New to the music scene, Jeremie Albino made waves with his debut album “Hard Time.” The album is a good mix of folk and rock, with some real bops mixed in. And for his recent tour Albino is making a pit stop in Seattle as an opener for Cat Clyde at the Barboza, so I hopped on the phone to interview him about the album and his career.
Jeremie Albino grew up near Toronto where he spent his time farming. He described the long stretches of time he spent alone where he would make up songs to pass the time. Jeremie spent the slow season playing at open mic nights and slowly building a following until he was approached by a few labels interested in signing him. Focusing more on his music, Jeremie spent a summer making an album, creating “Hard Time.” Jeremie emphasized how his music career was more of an accident, describing his passion for farming, saying the career change was a surprise but a welcome one.
The album is an interesting mix of band and chorus songs, with “Storm” taking on a classic rock sound. While other songs like “Cabin” and “Shipwreck” take on a more soulful folk genre. The inspirations for songs also varied.
“Midnight Wedding” is one of the more soulful songs on the album that follows a vignette style. Jeremie said that this song, like others on the album, wasn’t inspired by real life, but grew from the idea of an innocent love, and marrying your high school sweetheart. He imagined a story where perhaps the parents didn’t approve, and so the lovers sought to marry at midnight. “Amelia” is another cute vignette on the album about falling in love with Amelia Earhart. The song isn’t in the present tense but rather from the perspective of someone who longed to know Amelia in her time, giving the song a slow nostalgic charm.
“Storm” on the other hand is a more upbeat band song, written in reference to a big thunderstorm that had woken him up, early in the morning. Jeremie said that the melody came to him while looking at this large storm rolling in, so he wrote it down and went back to bed. Later he woke up, remembered the tune and adapted it to what we hear today. While the inspiration isn’t necessarily deep, the end product is a rather metaphorical song about perseverance, in a bouncy classic rock tune.
Jeremie will be opening on Nov. 17 for Cat Clyde, a more established country/folk singer. The two singers have been friends for a bit, with Jeremie describing them as kindred spirits. The two singers’ sounds blend well together, and I expect the concert to be a good one. While researching this article I found myself enjoying both artists immensely, so give them a listen. You might find yourself pleasantly surprised like I was. And if you really like them, tickets for Nov. 17 are still on sale.