In the traditional break-up rite, shoeboxes filled with ephemera and photographic time capsules are retired at the end of the long kiss goodnight. Too precious to resign to the landfill but too painful to revisit out of even the corner of the eye, shelves and hard drives are wiped cleaned of the evidence, which usually ends up in a closet waiting to be accidentally unearthed in a move.
For Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»musician Edo Van Breemen, however, the end of a recent relationship was lastingly, hauntingly, beautifully rendered into legend serving as the unintentional backstory to the Fall/Winter 2012 catalogue shoot.
Set to the primeval song of Iceland itself, Van Breemen arrived on location to simultaneously score the film and star in it with his girlfriend.
Seen as an ideal natural couple, Van Breemen and his partner were cast as the catalogues wandering souls by filmmaker Jeff Petry. While their poetic synergy effortlessly strings together scenes from the city of Reykjavik and its desolate surrounds, the fact that they broke up on set lends the story an unshakeable, melancholic voyeurism.
What still whispers amidst the drama, however, is the rippling soundscape, carefully crafted by Van Breemen to represent not only long shadows and blazing sunsets, but the clothing featured as the couple spins through the storms. Although he hopes to one day look back on the experience endearingly, it reinforced a disquiet in his relationship with music.
I got to the point where I wanted to quit music recently. Partly because of that, but partly because its such a hard life. I was dogged by a lot of feelings of wondering why all of this had happened. I have never watched the video; I will never watch the video. She sings on the song. Its especially weird for me but at the same time Im getting over it. Its an interesting thing to have a record of.
Thankfully the Canadian music scene has not lost a young prolific. Long-listed for the 2010 Polaris Prize and recipient of the SOCAN ECHO Songwriting prize that same year for his work with , the band returns with a new album in May. Next on deck though, is his vision for his project with Brasstronaut clarinetist Sam Davidson admitting it will possibly be break-up informed.
There is a lot of hope in it. Resorts is going to be exciting because its instrumental. A nice journey in moods and feelings. I want it to hopefully not be gloomy. Ive been listening to guy a German artist named . That album (Thora Vukk) has really gotten me through a rough time.
This kind of music isnt really represented in Canada as much. had to go to Berlin and Detroit to make it. There arent any consistent venues for it in Vancouver.
Surrounded by friends and contemporaries, Van Breemen still makes Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»his workshop, but not easily.
Ive been thinking about it a lot lately. I have my friends here, especially the guys from Salazar and other people I work for. People can write it off easily its hard to meet people, not enough going on but the people you do meet are doing interesting stuff. You have to work really hard, but youre not distracted as easily here as you might be.
Quietly, he opens up more about the maelstrom that finally released him in this new direction.
You look at your friends with jobs and families, at 31 years old I mean, and it was more like I was in a darker place. Its taking me a while to get out of it. I really appreciate where Ive come and what Ive done, its that Id like to do music in a different capacity, integrating with a bigger picture of life.
While the artist moves on in search of new footing, his musical output lags behind to surround the trials and triumphs of others with the unexpected textures of life.
