Musician seeks church vibes
Artist records second album in Igloo Church
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Thursday, March 2, 2017
INUVIK
Local musician Abe Drennan is capturing the sound and space of Inuvik's iconic Igloo Church to make his next album something special.
Abe Drennan records during a session in the Our Lady of Victory Church Saturday, Feb. 25. He's making his second album entirely in the church. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
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"At the very beginning, I saw the Igloo Church as an opportunity because (at) every show I played in there, it was an amazing sound," he said.
"What if I brought the sacred language of music into the sacred space of a church, what could that be like, what could that become?"
Drennan is working on his second album, Igloo Sessions, which will be entirely recorded inside the Our Lady of Victory Church, known locally as the Igloo Church.
His first album, We All Have a Dream, an 11-year project released in 2014, was much more technically produced. This time he wanted to simplify the process.
"What I found I lost in (the process of making the first album) was the feeling of playing live," he said.
"I always felt when you played live there was an energy there that was not in the studio, and we couldn't recreate it in the studio."
The church sessions have necessitated a lot of experimentation to find where to best place the microphone and how best to harness the sound from inside the dome.
"It's a live recording inside the church, capturing the sound in that space and there will be very limited instrumentation to these songs," said Drennan.
The songs on the album celebrate life, he said.
"When I feel inspired by something, usually what it comes down to is where's the common ground for us as human beings?" he said. "I think there's so much divisive language, us and them, left and right, but I don't have time for that in my art."
Music and trying to find what connects humans, rather than separates them, is a cathartic and therapeutic process, he said.
Drennan also feels strongly about the power of peaceful action. He referenced the ongoing Standing Rock protest over the Dakota Access Pipeline in the United States.
"Music is one way I'm choosing to stand for what I believe in," he said.
Drennan is aiming for a summer release and hopes to hold a release show at that time.
He's enlisted the help of several community members and some out-of-town artists to bring the project together.
