COLUMNS
The Concept of an Album
Turning a creative assignment into an adventure
By Kaleb Hikele
The art of making an album is one of the most freeing adventures – there are no rules . You can record a handful of songs in one room over a short period , or songs can travel through time and space by visiting different studios with years and miles between . As far as the number of songs , the duration , the genre , there are no guidelines . The full-length album is an artform in itself .
As I write this , it ’ s the first time in 12 years that I am not actively working on a concept album . I ’ m free from the shackles of my own personal assignments , ready to continue creating with experience in tow . I may never make an album with such grand concepts again , but my Winter and Coast to Coast albums as The Sun Harmonic simply had to become what they are . There ’ s a lot to gain from making records , for myself that meant devoting my entire twenties to two overlapping ( and never-ending ) projects . Call it passion or stubbornness , in the end you can accomplish more than a new album by staying true to your dreams ( i . e . travelling all the way across Canada to record an album from coast to coast ).
I ’ ve learned that an inspiring concept helps drive you to create an album with unexpected results . Even if the idea doesn ’ t go as planned , it will likely be more beautiful than you ever imagined . Embrace mistakes and derailments of the project along the way ! Meet your dreams at the finish line , and orchestrate a complete body of work that tells your story from the heart .
You will hear people say the album format is dead or outdated , but that ’ s not true for everyone . You ’ re still allowed to indulge in an album in its entirety , to listen from front to back on vinyl , or hit the shuffle button on Spotify . Neither format is right or wrong , technology will suggest one playback medium is superior to the other , but convenience serves a purpose in the way we listen to music today . The fulllength album is an invitation to choose your own adventure .
Whatever genre you ’ re creating , approach the album with a jazz musician ’ s mindset : improvise ! If you make a mistake , don ’ t stop playing . Find your way back and take control , just like you would at a live show .
Remember , your idea can adapt ! Circumstance , magic , tragedy , roadblocks — they ’ re all a healthy part of the creative process and not meant to be a deterrent . Mistakes and compromises can produce beautiful results . Momentary frustrations can become something that , in hindsight , was meant to be . Technical difficulties may force you to relocate and land in front of the perfect ribbon microphone at a completely different studio ( hey , it happened to me ).
Set your own parameters that will interfere and in turn inspire you creatively . An important lesson is to fulfill your ideas , no matter the cost . If you plan to spend months on a project and instead it takes years , accept the passing of time as a way to infuse the art with your experience . Will your song sound better when it ’ s recorded as a 31-year-old than when you wrote it at 20-something ?
One of the hardest things to do is to stick to the ambitious concept and vision behind an album . Any artist can lose sight along the way — you may lose interest in the songs , rework them endlessly , or external life gets too heavy . Throughout the album-making process you may face trauma , your own faults and fears , injury or heartache , all bookended by moments of pure beauty and reflection . Face it head-on and look ahead . Life as a musician is spent wading through time , practicing patience until you ’ re in front of the microphone once more .
Personally , I never dreamt that I ’ d be finishing my album on my days off as an essential worker during frigid winter lockdowns from a global pandemic . There were moments where , in minus-25-degrees , I turned off the heat in the delivery van just so I could listen clearly to my final mixes and make mental notes on the road . The exterior stress and creative fire were more than enough inspiration to distill the album . Sometimes , the payoff is the experience rather than any measurable payback .
So , don ’ t allow the lesser aspects of life steer you away from making music . Invite chaos and make sense of it . The world will keep turning whether or not we create our art , but it is undoubtedly a more beautiful place by doing so .
I want to thank Michael Raine , Canadian Musician ’ s editor-in-chief , who first spoke with me about my cross-country album on the Canadian Musician Podcast ( listen to the July 21 , 2021 episode ). I ’ ve been reading this magazine since I was a small-town high school musician with a guitar and only a few songs , so it ’ s an honour to write this column and appear in this issue .
Kaleb Hikele is a singer-songwriter from St . Thomas , ON and based in Toronto ’ s east end . Coast to Coast , his fifth Sun Harmonic studio album , is available now on vinyl ( streaming Oct . 1 , 2021 ). Kaleb has operated The Townhouse Recording Facility & Sound Studio in Riverdale since 2009 , producing dozens of albums for Moon Melody in the early 2010s and focusing now on his output as The Sun Harmonic . Follow @ thesunharmonic . www . thesunharmonic . com .
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