Remembering Music and Magic
By Adam Grant
At the young age of 24, Serena Ryder has already managed to cover a lot of ground within the musical landscape. It all started during her formative years in Millbrook, Ontario when Ryder would sing songs by others as a child, which eventually led to being inspired to write her own. After honing her craft and compiling enough original material to record a live, 2002 EP, Ryder was seemingly on the right path. In fact, it would be this specific concert soundtrack that would lead her to one of Canada’s most intriguing musical minds, Hawksley Workman.Upon hearing some of her songs on CBC radio, Workman decided to drop Ryder a line in the form of contract that would link her up to his Isadora Records label. She would soon accept, and put together 2004’s Unlikely Emergency. Her strong folk and soulful vocal style would garner some attention and lead Ryder to touring opportunities throughout North America, as well as the land down under – Australia. However, it wouldn’t be until one chance encounter at the 2005 Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame press conference that Ryder would be offered a concept that would change her life forever.After meeting up with Canadian music publisher Frank Davies following her performance at the aforementioned conference, a deal was in place for Ryder to tackle a project that would feature her expanding vocal talents within classic songs that have been in this country’s heritage for about a century. From the outside looking in, this would seem like an unenviable task for a yet to be established artist, but for Ryder, she saw this as a way to engulf herself in songs that she could not only enjoy performing, but also learn something from.“For me it wasn’t about making these songs mine or making them consciously different than what they were – and I didn’t actually really think about that,” contends Ryder. “People have been asking me some questions like ‘what process were you going through when thinking about singing these kinds of songs?’ They’re amazing songs so I really just had a great time singing them.
At the young age of 24, Serena Ryder has already managed to cover a lot of ground within the musical landscape. It all started during her formative years in Millbrook, Ontario when Ryder would sing songs by others as a child, which eventually led to being inspired to write her own. After honing her craft and compiling enough original material to record a live, 2002 EP, Ryder was seemingly on the right path. In fact, it would be this specific concert soundtrack that would lead her to one of Canada’s most intriguing musical minds, Hawksley Workman.Upon hearing some of her songs on CBC radio, Workman decided to drop Ryder a line in the form of contract that would link her up to his Isadora Records label. She would soon accept, and put together 2004’s Unlikely Emergency. Her strong folk and soulful vocal style would garner some attention and lead Ryder to touring opportunities throughout North America, as well as the land down under – Australia. However, it wouldn’t be until one chance encounter at the 2005 Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame press conference that Ryder would be offered a concept that would change her life forever.After meeting up with Canadian music publisher Frank Davies following her performance at the aforementioned conference, a deal was in place for Ryder to tackle a project that would feature her expanding vocal talents within classic songs that have been in this country’s heritage for about a century. From the outside looking in, this would seem like an unenviable task for a yet to be established artist, but for Ryder, she saw this as a way to engulf herself in songs that she could not only enjoy performing, but also learn something from.“For me it wasn’t about making these songs mine or making them consciously different than what they were – and I didn’t actually really think about that,” contends Ryder. “People have been asking me some questions like ‘what process were you going through when thinking about singing these kinds of songs?’ They’re amazing songs so I really just had a great time singing them.
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