We were warned when Open Strum released “Wildfire” last year that the next track they’d put out would take a distinctive reggae turn. It’s not the sort of sound you’d expect to come out of Memramcook, nor would you expect to find Willie Nelson’s harmonica player, Mickey Raphael, playing on it, but we have come to expect surprises from Michel Goguen. with their latest track, “Steady Blue Eyes,” Goguen is both exploring that reggae sound and pushing himself as a songwriter.
“Reggae music is usually what plays at home or in the car […] Reggae is my favourite genre of music,” says Goguen, “so I’m happy to have my first reggae track released!”
Spurred on by an interview Goguen watched of legendary folk-rocker and songwriter Ray LaMontagne, Goguen felt that he should grasp the opportunity of putting himself in the shoes of someone else to write the song.
“Ray was a bit frustrated when asked repeatedly if he was sad or upset, and he explained that when he writes a song it sometimes is about him and sometimes it’s not.” explains Goguen. “He’s just trying to write the best song he can. That really opened me up to try and write lyrics that would fit the song the best, even if it was not part of my personal story.”
“Steady Blue Eyes” tells of a parent’s love for their child and watching their child grow up and for inspiration Goguen turned to his brother and his two children during a recent visit. Written a few years ago and having finally been recorded with the band back in October, the song builds on a duet with Izabelle Ouellet, with the two taking turns crooning away in encouragement of their fictional child.
Goguen says that there’s a French version on the way which he has worked on with Daniel Léger, titled “Grands yeux bleus,” which will be released next month.
There’s also a lot more keeping Open Strum busy right now, even if you’re not seeing any live performances.
“I’m still going to release some world and singer songwriter songs in the future, but when the record comes out, probably half of the album will be reggae music,” says Goguen. “I’m busy writing and recording at the moment, so I’m not doing a lot of shows, however, as soon as the record is done the plan is to play as much as possible.”
You can, however, catch Open Strum at the Empress Theatre in Moncton on June 6, 2019 with Nikki Payne and Izabelle Ouellet as they kick off their annual Music for Critters fundraiser, and on August 20, 2019 at the Congrès Mondial Acadien,