Ken Whiteley sees the sun through a Hole In The Clouds on his latest single and lyric video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The opening track from the veteran Toronto folksinger’s timely, tranquil and tremendously solid album Unseen Hands: 12 Songs, 12 Strings, Hole In The Clouds is a dreamy lullaby that captures Whiteley at his best. “It is an invitation to open wide,” Whiteley says. “It is musically anchored in my 12-string guitar, Ben Whiteley’s upbeat bass lines, Georgia Harmer’s expanding background vocals, and Bucky Berger’s bongos and drumming.” The fact that such a simple yet stellar piece of music was derived from simply recognizing the sun breaking through clouds is a testament to Whiteley’s wonderful way with words and his instinctive approach to his craft.
Unseen Hands, recorded and mixed by Whiteley and Nik Tjelios at Toronto’s Casa Wroxton Studio and mastered by Harris Newman at Montreal’s Grey Market Mastering, is a lovely, serene affair. It speaks to simple truths of love, nature, and life in these somewhat trying times with political turmoil, the climate crisis, and people seemingly wrapped up in technology around every corner. From the folksy Here I Stand, which celebrates Toronto’s Indigenous history, to the soulful cover of Bobby Womack’s That’s The Way I Feel About You, Whiteley is masterful regardless of the song or topic.
Other spectacular nuggets include his intricate finger-picking during the chugging Fast Freight Train (written with Berger) and the blues-tinged Mixed Up World. He offers French flair during the American Songbook standard April In Paris, while New Growth melds world music influences into a song he penned as a birthday gift to wife Ellen Manney (who sings on So We Sing).
“The recordings all speak to place in one way or another — from the little patch of ground in downtown Toronto where I live, a conversation with the moon, April in Paris, looking at the stars, the soil, the planet, and how we all connect,” says Whiteley, who wrote nine of the 12 songs.
Additional musicians on Unseen Hands include Sundar Vishwanathan on bansouri flute and soprano sax, harmony vocalists Ciceal Levy and Adrienne Mackenzie, accordion player Tom Szczesniak, harmonica player Roly Platt, and string bassist Gord Mowat. As well, Whiteley welcomes a bevy of backing vocalists for the closing So We Sing, including Anna Pappas, Keith Kemps, Lia Pappas Kemps, Nastasia Pappas Kemps, Joel Archimbeault, Catherine Stockhausen and Daisy Archimbeault.
Unseen Hands is the followup to 2023’s So Glad I’m Here and another fine addition to Whiteley’s rich history. Having shared the stage with Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton and John Hammond Jr., among countless others, Whiteley has seven Juno nominations for his solo work, along with another 22 for collaborations, plus two Grammy noms and 18 Maple Blues nominations. He has won a Genie and lifetime achievement awards from various organizations. With over 400 songs written, Whiteley is a Canadian folk institution.
Watch the lyric video for Hole In The Clouds above, check out Ken Whiteley’s tour dates and the rest of Unseen Hands below, and join him on his website, Facebook and Instagram.
Ken Whiteley Tour Dates
Nov. 24 | Hugh’s Room (2 p.m.), Toronto (Release show with special guests)
Dec. 7 | Metropolitan Community Church (3 p.m. & 7 p.m.), Toronto
Dec. 12 | Shenkman Hall, Ottawa*
Dec. 19 | Victoria Hall, Cobourg
Dec. 20 | Nineteen on the Park, Stouffville
Dec. 21 | Hugh’s Room, Toronto
* With Sultans of String Christmas Caravan
