Art d’Ecco has announced select North American spring tour dates in support of his acclaimed fourth full-length album, Serene Demon, out now via Paper Bag Records. The tour kicks off May 27 in Seattle, running through June 13 back home in Victoria, BC. Tickets on-sale Friday, March 28 at 10am local times.
Serene Demon is Art d’Ecco’s most ambitious album to date, but fans won’t struggle to recognize his handiwork. Like the many groundbreaking artists who have inspired Art d’Ecco over the years, he intends to keep nudging his listeners forward, prompting them to explore – and accept – unfamiliar ideas. “Once you’ve trained the ear of the audience, it establishes a new precedent,” he concludes. Tastes change and evolve, and outliers mature into icons. “That moves pop music forward in the most beautiful, organic way, and I’m constantly trying to exist within that paradigm. How do I challenge myself and throw the rule book out, but still make this the catchiest, quirkiest piece of music possible? I like existing between those two worlds.”
Art rented an apartment in New York for two months, walking the streets listening to Henry Mancini, Ennio Morricone, John Barry and François de Roubaix, as he dreamed up cinematic visions of the people passing by. Pushing his limits and taking risks during the writing process for Serene Demon, some more successful than others, but always leading him to a place he had not yet traveled before.
Ecstatic when Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes, The Strokes, Beck, U2) expressed interest in working on his new material, Art soon came to realize that their methods and concepts didn’t align as closely as hoped; after two weeks of production in Vancouver (including some “great ideas” that made it to the final record), they parted ways, after which Art took over complete creative control in the studio. Yet despite his “ferocious, introverted independence,” Art recognized that he couldn’t realize his ambitious vision single-handedly. Nearly 30 musicians contributed to making Serene Demon, and three of the new songs blossomed from collaborative exercises with his rhythm section, drummer Malcolm Holt and bassist Pascal Le Vasseur.
Great pop music accommodates big ideas and simple truths with equal finesse, but don’t expect a record – even one as ambitious as Serene Demon – to solve all life’s mysteries. “If you’re constantly searching for answers or hope to bestow any relevance to the existence that you’re living, then take a pause and realize that life is happening right now,” concludes Art. “You don’t need to constantly defer happiness. Just exist in the moment.”
Tour Dates:
05/27 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
05/28 – Portland, OR @ Lollipop Shoppe
05/29 – Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
06/04 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Sultan Room
06/06 – Toronto, ON @ Do West Fest
06/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
06/12 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
06/13 – Victoria, BC @ Upstairs
