Most stories are like icebergs; you only see about 10% of what’s on the surface. Cape Breton’s singer-songwriter Mike McKenna Jr.’s new single “At the Edge of the World” is a prime example of that, both literally and figuratively.
From past events, McKenna has distilled a mythology; tiny components that become something more than the sum of its parts. While searching for regional stories that struck the right chord, McKenna found three in particular that he felt related strongly to what he was trying to express; the crash of Swiss Air Flight 111 near Peggy’s Cove in 1998, the sinking of the HMS Titanic in 1912, and the all too common story of the tourists that perish near Peggy’s Cove each year.
Tying them together are these characters (and very real people) who were all there to witness the events: the first-responders and the giant mythos that’s able to grow up around them, but first, and foremost, is the omnipotent and looming presence of the ocean.
“For this album I was looking for regional stories that were deeply moving, and these testimonies definitely fit into that. The song came out almost like a warning from an old sage, about the dangers of the waves and the power of the ocean,” says McKenna.
The crash of Swiss Air Flight 111 near Peggy’s Cove in 1998 particularly affected McKenna. especially the recounting of one first-responder’s experience in a newspaper.
The way McKenna works is not quite so straight forward as all that though. The song encapsulates the ideas of the events, but its meaning surpasses the particulars; they are only fodder use in creating the greater whole.
“I did see the commonality between these stories in the Swissair article and the Titanic logbooks I’d read and I guess I’d created a scenario where someone’s job was to pull these Peggy’s Cove tourists out of the water in the same way, a guardian angel/unknown soldier type,” says McKenna.
While that might come across as the nuts and bolts of storytelling, McKenna places great importance on what they might signify. The ocean becomes an untameable hazard. The black rock’s of Peggy’s Cove a fatal trap.
“There’s a bit of a mythical element: an Icarus and Daedalus reference; flying too close to the sun. I used to really like Greek myths when I was a kid, and hearing about tourists ignoring the signs and taking photos on the black rocks seemed like that a bit, but in this case it’s definitely an everyday hero, the type that doesn’t ask for credit but does the job.
“I’ve been slipping mythology and folklore into my music for a long time, but the first responder is a first,” explains McKenna. “The reality is that people who do this type of work see some horrific things, and often can’t talk about it. The journals from the Titanic were more logbooks, so they lacked emotion: “the weather is this”, ‘the temperature is that”, “pulled 80 bodies from the water today mostly men and boys”, etc., whereas, in this generation, we’ve become more comfortable talking about PTSD and the long term effects.”
The live video released today, presented by Maison Cloakroom, gives another perspective on the single that was released last week. It’s a little rougher in presentation, a little gentler at times, and there’s the tiniest lick hinting away at Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”
Shot by fellow singer-songwriter and friend, Jesse Daniel Smith, the live version was captured in a single take.
“He was visiting from Vancouver where he’d recently relocated, so we had a good hang before and after the session. The space is a bespoke suit shop and speakeasy owned by my friend Louis Ialenti, who you can see in the video playing my guitar for a second,” says McKenna.
“Overall it was a pretty relaxed day catching up with them both. We did it in a single take, which I think can give live video a better feel… even if it’s not perfect.”
“At The Edge of the World” is the title track from Mike McKenna Jr.’s upcoming album, which will be released on release on April 17th. Many of the album’s tracks will similarly pay tribute to more dark tales.