Be it getting covered in dirt at his in-law’s family ranch south of Winnipeg or mimicking the sounds of augers and combines on his latest release, Prairieography, Winnipeg’s singer/songwriter, Del Barber, has a rooted connect with the Canadian prairies.
Barber will be joining forces with Rose Cousins for a double-billed Cochrane Valley Folk Club (CVFC) show on Feb. 15 at the Alliance Church.
A self-professed country boy to the core, Barber seeks to bridge the gap between the urban and rural through dialogue and song.
“What I’ve always seen as being a danger for me is losing a connection to working class people…and I need that as a backbone to my music,” said Barber via telephone — weary from a flight delay en route to Toronto.
“Those are the most interesting stories — a lot of great songs are written about people who live in a lot of tension and irony.”
It might be about the farmer who has to commute to Fort McMurray to work in the oil fields in order to put food on the table or perhaps stemming from a fly fishing trip in southern Alberta.
Wherever the song comes from, Barber is rooted in deep-seated reverence for the rural life — for the working class and the simple pleasures derived from a respect and an understanding of prairie life.
The title of his fourth album (officially released yesterday) was inspired by one of Barber’s musical heroes — Ian Tyson’s Cowboyography (1987), who joins the singer/songwriter’s list of influences, which includes John Prine.
Self-produced with the assistance of steel player Bill Western, the intention of the album was to have an organic sound, which lends explanation to the decision to employ both analogue and digital technologies in the recording process, as well as capturing the reverb by recording inside a 150-foot grain silo.
Barber said the end result is more country than his previous work.
“This album is going to sound more country to some of my fans…I wasn’t intending that…I was just spending so much time at bull sales and rural dances,” laughed the musician, adding that he and his wife are in the middle of moving four hours south of their Winnipeg home, to help out with her family’s full-scale grain and cattle operation.
Barber has had a lot of time to reflect this year.
With more than 200 hours of travel time logged in January alone, 2014 is shaping up to be a busy year with Barber performing a host of shows in promotion of his newest release, including a series of Western Canadian tour dates throughout February.
“I’m just a representative of the prairies and Midwestern culture.”
Learn more about Del Barber at delbarber.com.
Tickets to the Feb. 15 CVFC show are available at cochranefolkclub.com, at Cochrane Coffee Traders and at Phantoms Music.
