Artist: Abigail Lapell
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Song: “Down by the Water”
Album: Getaway
Release Date: February 1, 2019
Label: Coax Records
In Their Words: “‘Down by the Water’ is a springtime song, so there’s a lot of imagery of renewal or redemption, and even some biblical symbolism, suggesting an escape to a better place — whether literal or metaphorical. The song evokes the idea of getting away somewhere isolated, away from the world, in order to rediscover your voice or calling — something that ultimately deepens your sense of connection to the world. Like a songwriting retreat!
“I love singing with Dana Sipos, who’s featured on this song and is an amazing songwriter — and people often tell us we sound like sisters, which is a bonkers compliment to me because she has one of my favourite voices of all time. We’ve toured together a bunch (including by bike and canoe) so we’ve had a good amount of practice singing on each other’s songs. For this tune we recorded live-off-the-floor in the studio, in a room together; no headphones or isolation, just a guitar and our two voices. So it’s one of the simplest arrangements on the album.
“This was my first time making a music video, and it was a really fun and surprisingly time-intensive process. It was filmed by Brittany Farhat at Union Sound Studios in Toronto, which is such a beautiful (and photogenic!) space, and I edited it very slowly over several months. Also featured in the video is Chris Stringer, my wonderful producer, who was one of a small team that started the studio — they built it literally from the ground up a few years ago. It’s also where I met my fiancĂ©, while working on my last album there. So this video and location are particularly special to me.” — Abigail Lapell
Photo credit: Gaelle Legrand
