Andy Shauf produces McDougall’s I Don’t Really Care EP
Julia McDougall, a Regina-based musician, is launching her latest release, a four-song EP entitled I Don’t Really Care. The songwriter is currently on tour to support the EP, and will be playing tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 10, at Vangelis.
While most fans likely remember her playing under the moniker Julia and Her Piano, McDougall is now using her full name to better represent her sound – the piano only makes an appearance on one song on the EP, she says.
“I’m not a band and I didn’t want to make a trendy name that wouldn’t be cool three weeks from now,” says McDougall.
To record the EP, McDougall worked with Regina-native Andy Shauf, who similarly recently released a new album. (And similarly shredded last night at Vangelis.)
“We worked closely on the EP and collaborated on it,” says McDougall. “For the string arrangements I had a clear idea of what we wanted and we notated them on and worked off of each other’s ideas, and decided what sounded best together.”
The EP presents a logically evolved sound for McDougall, who sounds like she is almost on the cusp of adulthood. The guitar hooks take a backseat to the strings, which soar amongst her vocals – on “Married” McDougall croons about her future domesticity with a clear earnestness.
Setting up shop in a church in the ghost town of Bromhead, Sask., McDougall says that the sparse setting, along with Shauf’s collaborations, allowed her to produce the listlessness and spaciousness of the EP.
“The tracking in the ghost town was only used for one of the songs on the EP, but a lot of the tracking will be going towards the full-length,” says McDougall, noting that quite a few people have become enamoured with the locale she chose to record in.
“My mom is a Lutheran pastor and it was her old church. I grew up in a town like this and it becomes an empty, dilapidated space. But the town was peaceful, with lots of birds chirping. Plus the local farmer would always come chat with us and tell us how his harvest was going,” says McDougall with a laugh.
While she remains mum on any details surrounding the full-length album, McDougall says it should be out in the spring or summer of 2013.
Tour dates:
Nov. 9 Edmonton, AB – The Elevation Room
Nov. 10 Saskatoon, SK – Vangeli’s
Nov. 11 Regina, SK – The Artful Dodger
Nov. 15 Camrose, AB – Scalliwags
Nov. 16 Lloydminster, AB – The Roots Community Emporium
Nov. 24 Winnipeg, MB – TBA