After a rousing opening set at the Majestic Theatre in September, Basia Bulat will be back in Wisconsin tonight to showcase her unique brand of ethereal folk-pop. The intimate and historic Stoughton Opera House seems an ideal environment to experience Bulat’s powerful voice and orchestral arrangements, well worth the trek outside of Madison.
We had the chance to talk to Ms. Bulat about her experience working on her new record, Tall Tall Shadow, her hometown of Ontario, and where her lyrics comes from.
When did you start playing the autoharp, and what attracted you to it in the first place?
“A neighbor of mine was selling it at a garage sale, so I came upon the instrument totally by chance a few years ago. I didn’t realize that I had heard it in many of older folk and bluegrass recordings; I guess I just had always assumed that what I was hearing on those old records was a guitar in Nashville tuning or something). So when I started to play it and realized I had been listening to it all along for many years, that was pretty exciting. Sonically the instrument is really interesting to me — it’s got this fairy tale-sounding higher range but also has this scratchy/of-the-earth quality so it’s an interesting combination… and when you amplify it it’s just magic.”
You said in a statement recently, “This time around I felt braver. I wanted to play with electric and electronic sounds, exploring the boundaries of the folk music some people know me for.” What do you think made you feel braver this time around? Will fans of your earlier music be surprised by this new album?
“I think more than anything, writing lyrics without hiding where they were coming from was something I hadn’t done before and is what makes it feel different to me. I hope people like it.”
You’re originally from Ontario and tour a fair amount in Canada. Are you more comfortable playing in your hometown of Toronto or is there a bit more pressure?
“Playing in front of all your friends and family creates a strange situation where you feel very comfortable as well as under an extreme amount of pressure at the same time, if that makes any sense!”
How was it playing a few shows with Jim James, including one in Madison several weeks ago?
“It was amazing. He and his band were so kind and so much fun to tour with, and the audience was incredibly attentive and generous so I just had the most amazing time!”
What were you listening to in the months leading up to and during the recording of Tall Tall Shadow and do you think this impacted the outcome of the record?
“I was listening a lot to ’70s albums, Fairport Convention’s Liege and Lief, Fleetwood Mac, Harry Nilsson, Leonard Cohen — but not sure how much of it you can hear in the album, though.”
Bonus question: any chance we’ll hear your wonderful A.V. Club cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” at the Stoughton Opera House?
“Yeah, I think I will! In fact, I think I even played it in Madison last time so now I’ve got to play it at the Opera House.”