It’s an exciting time for Scott Richmond. The Regina-based artist is in the middle of recording his second album and is in the middle of a creative hot streak. He will be in Yorkton on May 19 for a show presented by the Yorkton Arts Council and the Spark youth mentorship program.
Richmond says he’s hit an especially prolific period in songwriting, with over fifty songs written over the past year. He’s now in the process of recording the new album, and paring down that large library of new material into the tracks for the new album.
“I’m feeling really good about a lot of the new stuff... It’s definitely some material that I’m really excited about, and it’s a sneak peak for people who have been following what I’ve been doing quite closely.”
While continuing the folk-roots style of his first album, he’s says it’s going to be moving in a more rock direction for the new material. He’s also writing for a live performance in mind.
“I really wanted to have material that was extremely engaging that could translate well to different settings. We do smaller house concerts and larger crowds at festivals, so it’s nice to have material that can translate well to pretty much any environment.”
The newer, high energy material is something that Richmond has wanted to make and perform, but says that he wasn’t trying to force that when writing songs.
“I try to let songs come out as naturally as possible, rather than being too contrived.”
Richmond might be in the roots genre, but he’s not limited in his influences, noting that he’s a fan of a wide range of music, from country and classic soul up to the recent Beyonce album “Lemonade.” Richmond admits that his upbringing might influence where his sound starts.
“I tend to gravitate towards the acoustic guitar. Growing up in rural Saskatchewan I grew up on country music, so it’s really natural for me to pick up the acoustic guitar and write the G-C-D country chords.”
While in a creative period, Richmond admits that it has been a tumultuous year, which he admits has inspired him to write so much new music.
“Any time there’s major change in your life, that can inspire a lot of emotions, and I tend to express myself best through songs. For me it’s a kind of therapy. I love performing, but honestly what I love more than anything is creating and writing. When I’m creating and writing I feel healthiest, because of all the stuff I was going through in my relationship and my personal life, I especially needed to have some sort of therapy in writing,” Richmond says.
“I don’t write because I want to, I write because I have to.”
While a personal album, Richmond emphasizes that he’s got a wide range of moods on record, with a few high energy, fun tracks.
“I didn’t want the whole thing to be one thing or another. I wanted it to be something that if I felt like listening to music, I could put it in and capture a lot of different emotions and states of being.”
Scott Richmond expects the new album to be out in the fall. The Yorkton performance will be at 7:00 p.m. at the Anne Portnuff Theatre. Tickets are available at ticketpro.ca.
