SHIRTLIFTER

Shirtlifter’s aspirations have shifted since the original inception. The decision to go solo was a hard call to make. What had begun, alone with four garbage cans in a neighbourhood garage in Ottawa, had blossomed into a seasoned, music artist working in Toronto. The various collaborations with others had brought a welcomed variety of musical instruments to the music and lyrics of the club music composer. However, from the point of view of biography, it would be lyrics, which would most confidently inform the thrust behind the developing style surfacing within Shirtlifter’s solo music releases.
To the singer, both as an indie recording artist and as an independent person, the rediscovery of notebooks stashed away from the early days in Ottawa almost bordered on a ‘deus ex machina’ for the wealth of words and images provided towards the building of the vocal tracks in the new music. Being an indie recording artist is characterized by more than one edge. Privacy versus solitude and the resulting tradeoffs among freedoms and restrictions are familiar themes to many.
In the case of Shirtlifter, the inherently risky decision in going solo has proven to be a wise one. While taking on the ultimate responsibilty for everything, one secure footing came courtesy of the stash of newfound notebooks. The facility to freely alternate between the creation of original instrumental parts, and the laying out of secure lyrics, led to the opportunity to simultaneously focus on completing and recording several arrangements at one time. The result is not only an impressive crop of material which displays consistently fresh approaches toward a variety of themes, each track embraces more than enough depth to encourage repeat listenings. LM