Interview: Keegan Powell – “I Became Who I Was Writing About”

Following the release of his latest single, “If It’s Good For Your Heart,” and the announcement of his upcoming sophomore album, Fear Be Gone, Recordspin caught up with Toronto-based artist Keegan Powell.

Powell’s music is known for its earthy, warm, acoustic textures, accompanied by poetic lyrics and ethereal vocals. Fear Be Gone was produced by Matt Snell, who has previously worked with artists such as Dua Lipa and The Flatliners. The album was recorded over the course of three days in an abandoned cottage on the Kawartha Lakes, giving it a raw and organic feel.

Powell’s latest single, “If It’s Good For Your Heart,” is a heartfelt and uplifting track that encourages listeners to shield themselves with a heart of gold and let go of their stress in order to find joy. The song showcases Powell’s ability to create a sound that is both comforting and inspiring, with lyrics that resonate with listeners on a deep level.

Recordspin caught up with Keegan Powell via email to discuss his latest single, “If It’s Good For Your Heart,” his upcoming album, Fear Be Gone, and what else lies ahead in 2023. Here’s what he had to say.

Your music is often described as a combination of psychedelic rock, alternative folk, brit pop, and shoegaze. Can you tell us more about your musical influences that contributed to this unique sound?

I think I’m attracted to things that on the surface are not obvious things to put together. In my hodgepodge mind and fantasyland mind I like to go… “Well what would it sound like if Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and The Cure formed a band together?” Or “how about if we got The Verve to hang out with Townes Van Zandt for a day while Joni Mitchell watches from the corner of the room?”

Most people would probably agree it wouldn’t be the best fit and that’s why I like to think of them trying to work something out. Because it creates a tension in the mind. I draw out the hypothetical band dynamics and arguments they would have, to get something going. Once they’ve figured it out, they start making a song that inevitably ends up being my own.

Your single, “If It’s Good For Your Heart” is an uplifting & comforting song about taking control of your mind and letting go of stress. What inspired you to write this song and what message do you hope listeners take away from it?

I think it was a subliminal backhanded response to everything I saw going on around me on earth at the time. It’s about realising the only thing you have control over is the thing between your two ears. Sometimes it’s important to block all the noise out. And sometimes you need to be the noise itself.

Watch Keegan Powell’s “If It’s Good For Your Heart” lyric video below

Your upcoming album, Fear Be Gone, was recorded in an abandoned cottage on the Kawartha Lakes, using analog tape machines. How did this unconventional setting and recording process influenced the sound and overall creative process of the album?

It was a liberating process because in the first sessions of making the album we used no tuners, no click tracks, no guitar picks. We did everything in full takes, very limited overdubs. All these decisions I made were very intentional because I was tired of making music that in theory could be perfect after the fact of making it. And as a self proclaimed perfectionist, this made me perform better because we couldn’t really fix anything.

For instance, the tuners we use in modern music makes everyone sound essentially the same. The frequencies are all the same and its as if everyone is wearing the same uniform outside harmonically. It’s hard to tell who’s who. I can tune my guitar to the hum of a fridge or the buzz of an aeroplane going over my head or a lawn mower at work outside. They are all natural hums. If anyone is to tell you that’s wrong, they lack imagination. Music is like the air. When you get down to it, it’s a completely free element for the taking.

Compared to your debut album, Previous Pain, how do you think your music has evolved?

On Previous Pain, the music dictated the words. On Fear Be Gone, the words dictated the music. It was a completely backwards process from the last time around. I found myself with an abundance of words that needed music and not an abundance of music that needed words. I found that very exciting and that’s mainly to do with Fear Be Gone being an extension of “Scatterings” the book I started writing. I think I had around 50,000 words to choose from so you can imagine how much was left off the table.

As you mentioned, the origins of Fear Be Gone came from a book you started writing called “Scatterings”. Can you tell us more about how your literary inspirations influenced the songwriting and narrative of the album?

“Scatterings” is a book of three parts, poems, short stories and allegorical type musings that all revolve around a character who is trying to figure out how to use their self imposed weaknesses as their ultimate strength. At the time, my goal was to try and summarise everything I had read in my life all into one book that had a North Star, with this character spearheading its ideology. Almost like my own personal bible.

Soon after starting to write the book and wondering who the actual character was, I realised I wanted to be this person. So I became who I was writing about, and who I was writing about ended up becoming me through the process of the album.

With the release of “Fear Be Gone” and your upcoming Toronto release show (May 14th, The Baby G), what else lies ahead in 2023?

We’ll be recording two more records and if it’s completely up to me – I’ll be touring Fear Be Gone as much as humanly possible.

To close, what song/EP/album have you been listening to on repeat recently?

Impossible to choose one, but! Lately I’ve been listening to Bach’s violin concertos, Pat Metheny, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Fear Be Gone by Keegan Powell is set to be released on May 10, 2023, via Powell’s own imprint, Real Rumpus. For more information, visit his website here.