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Canadian singer-songwriter Ken Yates releases his fourth single today, "Honest Light," featuring Caroline Marie Brooks, a tune that makes room for both Yates' perfections and imperfections to shine, along with its warm video set in his quiet hometown. Cerulean, Yates' forthcoming full-length album, is due out June 3 and is available for pre-order now.
In addition to the new music, Yates will be touring this summer across Ontario, Canada, as well as two dates in Michigan, and concluding with a date in Londonderry, NH. Multiple dates feature artists like Jadea Kelly, Abigail Lapell, Jenny Berkel and Brian Dunne. Plus, Yates has added new dates, as he'll be supporting recent collaborator Kathleen Edwards at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario on August 9 as well as a festival slot on July 15-17 at the Home County Music and Art Festival in London, Ontario. Grab tickets to see Yates and Edwards here, and see the full Home County festival lineup and learn about entry here. Tickets to all shows this summer are available now here.
Yates will also have an official showcase at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday, May 19 at 7:45 PM CT. Registration for the 2022 Folk Alliance event is available here.
"Honest Light," is a golden hour soundtrack-a tune perfect for watching the sun fall into place as everything the light touches-perfections and imperfections-are illuminated in its glow. "There's a certain kind of light during "golden hour" when the sun comes through your window and suddenly everything looks different," Yates explains. "You notice the dust on your table, the dirt on your floor, the crumbs on your counter. I tried to capture that moment in song form. For a long time I only had the line, "Life is like a cheap wine, it don't get any better with time" and I kind of built the song slowly around that one line." Yates adds that Brooks happened to be on her album around the same time with Yates' frequent collaborator and producer Jim Bryson, and "graciously lent her lovely voice" to the track.
The accompanying video for "Honest Light," marks the third recent collaboration between Yates and director Adam Cook, with Cook being behind Yates' previous two videos as well. Shot across Yates' hometown in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, the video brings viewers into Yates' quiet, serene world. The video, much like Yates' previous work, radiates a particular profound warmth that can be felt even on Ontario's coldest day.
Between stunning drone shots, some visual distortion and playing with the lighting throughout, the video manages to elevate the track and cleverly demonstrate its meaning. Describing the thought behind the video, Yates says, "Our idea was to capture a dark versus light theme between the verses and the chorus. We filmed in multiple locations around the Collingwood area, including an abandoned drive-in right at dawn." Yates continues, "Co-producer and editor, Nick Marinelli distorted a few of the frames, which really helped to capture the dizzy, anxiousness of this song. I wanted it to feel like I was moving in and out of this warped reality in the verses, then grounding myself in the darkness of the choruses."
Today's release follows previous singles, "Best of the Broken Things," "Consolation Prize" featuring Katie Pruitt and the apocalyptic lullaby "The Big One" featuring Kathleen Edwards. FLOOD Magazine, who premiered "Consolation Prize" wrote the track features, "downcast energy and confessional lyrics while adding layers to its lush soundscape." FLOOD also adds that the ski-themed video, also directed by Cook, sees Yates "celebrate last place" and presents "Yates himself on the slopes, distractedly downhill-racing rather than busting out flashy moves."
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