Mallory Chipman journeys through the past in more ways than one on her reflective and searching new single and video Mythic Time — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
The latest release from the Edmonton singer-songwriter’s most recent album Songs To A Wild God, the beautiful, bittersweet and beguiling Mythic Time will resonate with anyone who has spent time examining their ancestry in search of kinship, connection, meaning and understanding. Over a gorgeously warm track that gene-splices classic Americana with touches of traditional, lilting British folk elegance, Chipman tries to peer backward, hoping to pull aside the veil that conceals the hazy past in order to get a clearer picture of her own present:
“Where are my breadcrumbs, I cannot find them
Where are your footsteps to lead me back, lead me back
Grasping at echos, hand-me-down memories
Sing me to sleep and keep the beat
In mythic time.”
“I wrote Mythic Time about finding more about oneself and one’s family through the timelessness of myths and legends,” she says. “In his 50s, my dad first reconnected with his biological family and learned more about his late father’s Slovakian family. Mythic Time is a tribute to this experience and my grandfather whom I never had the chance to meet, but perhaps got to know through mythic time as I embraced Slavic folklore to learn more about this side of my family.”
Understandably, Chipman seems connected to things most of us aren’t. It’s reflected in her music, a sonic smorgasbord that captures the awesomeness of nature, and how we relate to it. After creating an internationally acclaimed EP inspired by birdsong, 2023’s As Though I Had Wings, Mallory returned in 2024 with Songs To A Wild God, 10 gems offering a tour of what she describes as, “my reverence for the wild mystery that keeps my feet on solid ground in a world that is spinning by me at rates I can hardly fathom sometimes.”
Powered by her multi-octave voice, the sound of Songs To A Wild God ranges from cinematic folk-rock to intimate spoken word observations. Aiding Mallory in her role as producer is her longtime engineer at Edmonton’s Riverdale Records, Scott Franchuk, along with multi-instrumentalists Brett Hansen and Nico Humby, drummer Jon Guenter, bassist Connor Walsh, saxophonist Mark DeJong and vocalist Esther Forseth. While Mallory has often leaned on her formal musical education on previous releases, she says that this time she wanted to rely solely on her gut and intuition. The results speak for themselves, as Songs To A Wild God hearkens back to when artists such as Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and Sarah McLachlan built their reputations through a musical connection to nature.
“I used to try to fit myself into a box,” Mallory says. “I would constantly ask myself, what would be most marketable? Will the audience be confused or rejected if I hop from genre to genre? Will people roll their eyes if I sing over and over about what I believe in? In the making of this album, I learned that I am a product of my influences — and that’s not something to escape, but rather embrace. I have felt myself become liberated from industry expectation and free to journey wherever the art takes me. That’s why I believe this album to be my best work yet.”
Those words are backed up by several songs like I Am Slumber, which begin simply with familiar acoustic chord progressions before exploding out of the speakers with euphoric blasts of intertwined vocals and electric guitars. It’s the kind of sound that can’t be planned, but only carried out by musicians with undeniable chemistry. That notion is confirmed with the epic Big Sky Country, recorded live off the floor with a chorus of 14 voices. Mallory also notes Old Man River — a duet with fellow Edmonton singer and actress Kaeley Jade — as a favourite, written to highlight the threat of long-term droughts in Alberta.
“I really tried to capture a duality of electronic and acoustic elements on the album as a whole,” Mallory says. “Some of my favourite tracks are probably the ones that embody this balance between synthesizer and acoustic piano, electric and acoustic guitars the most. Same Hands is one example, with the lyrics presenting another dichotomy about how the very same hands we use to express love are also used to inflict pain on those around us.”
It also needs to be mentioned that at the core of Songs To A Wild God is the work of Tom Hirons, whose poem Sometimes A Wild God has become a touchstone for many other artists seeking to reconnect with the natural world. If such a piece of writing could have a soundtrack, Chipman’s album would easily be the perfect complement.
Watch the video for Mythic Time above, listen to the rest of Songs To A Wild God below, find it on your preferred streamer HERE, and spend some quality time with Mallory Chipman on her website, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
