Joel Plaskett stripping back his sound on his upcoming album, ‘One Real Reveal’

Halifax’s own Joel Plaskett is remaining tight-lipped about his newly announced album One Real Reveal, dropping on Sept. 13.

However, what we do know so far is that it will be Plaskett’s most open, vulnerable, and stripped-back album to date.

To top it off, it’s all been recorded on a four-track cassette machine using one microphone, produced solely by Plaskett.

“I started recording on my four-track cassette machine, and then just sort of decided that, you know, [I] had a bunch of these quieter songs, some of which have been written over the last number of years,” said Plaskett.

The self-imposed challenge has shifted the way he views music production.

“Once you have a limitation like that, it sort of helps you reign in the arrangements, but you can’t bury them,” he continued. “Sometimes it’s almost easier to add than it is to subtract, or to leave it be and be happy with it when you’re used to hearing things that are more fully arranged. I’ve done that a lot over the years.”

Two singles released

To coincide with the announcement of his new album last week, Plaskett released a new single unto the world titled “Rainy Day Janey”, a soft jam about impositions and overstaying your welcome, backed by an acoustic guitar and the pluck of an old banjo.

“There’s always been times when you have somebody come over and you’re like, oh well, I could go do something else. But this person is enjoying themselves. Yeah, by all means, help yourself to a cup of tea, but I’m going to go do some writing,” Plaskett said of the song’s story.

Joel Plaskett released his newest single “Rainy Day Janey” on May 23. The song is expected to appear on Plaskett’s next album, ‘One Real Reveal’, which drops on Sept. 13. Credit: Rebecca Kraatz

The track was recorded using an omnidirectional microphone, permitting listeners to hear the space around Plaskett’s playing.

“Music is not just happening in time,” he explains. “It’s happening in space, and great recordings capture space really well,” referring to the records of Led Zeppelin as an example.

“I’m not making Led Zeppelin by any stretch, but there’s something there… I don’t know, I mean, I was just trying to do something unadorned, and that felt real—like you were right there with the music.”

While he said he may record a band version of the song one day, Plaskett said he enjoyed how laid back it becomes as the song goes on.

“The playing gets lazier as the song goes on. The banjo, by the end, is almost out of time with the song. I sort of like the kind of imprecision of the instruments, because I mean, I was just kind of tracking it on the four-track and trying not to be too precious about it.”

Also appearing on the album is a track Plaskett released in April during National Poetry Month, titled “The New Joys”. Having written the poem some years ago, Plaskett brought it back to the surface as a spoken word piece during a show at The Carleton as Bill Stevenson provided piano accompaniment.

It was a recording of this performance that Plaskett eventually put through a four-track, mixed with some harmonizing vocals, and released on April 5.

“We did it two nights in a row,” said Plaskett. “The first night is the recording that we released, and then the next night, he [Stevenson] took this, like, super jaunty approach to the music, and there’s a YouTube version of that.”

Unsurprisingly, Plaskett lends himself handily to the poetic format, with his usual sharp yet relaxed delivery suiting his philosophical musings to a tee.

“I was really pleased at how well it was received,” he said, noting he hadn’t released anything in a couple years up to that point.

As both singles indicate, the album will be minimal in its presentation, but not lacking in any effort on the part of Plaskett.

“It’s a quiet record, so I’m hoping it will resonate with people who are in that headspace,” said Plaskett. “I love playing rock and roll and I got some of those shows for the summer on the horizon, and other material cooking on the back burner for things down the line, but this record is kind of folksy in minimal ways. It’s sort of what feels right for me at this kind of junction.”

Speaking of shows, Plaskett has announced several show dates throughout the summer, as well as his One Real Reveal on Wheels tour through the fall. Here’s what he has planned for Atlantic Canada. A full list of show dates can be found on his website.