As Blue Acres, Darrel Cameron is on a journey of rediscovering and redefining himself. After releasing an album under his own name in 2010, he spent a decade working as a music therapist, raising kids, and now he’s making the leap to reconnect with a part of himself that he says has been long neglected.
If it were a simple matter of rekindling an old hobby, that would be the end of the story, but his second single, “I Will Return to Your Arms” is about reconciling with a creative side that he felt had been at odds with his faith.
“I Will Return To Your Arms” forms the second part of a conversation that began with his previous single, “Hard to Find.” In the latter, he addresses his diverging faith tradition and worldview, while the former is about rekindling his sense of wonder in the world, even if his experiences had left him hurt and jaded.
“It’s about the spiritual part of things – it’s not literal arms, but the feeling of belonging, like coming home to yourself, a conversation between my pragmatic self and my creative self,” explains Cameron.
“They were in the past. I thought my creative-self would disrupt my life. I worked as a music therapist for a long time, I went through a separation, left my faith tradition, and now I’m embracing and making room for my creative-self more.”
Cameron explains that going through that experience, and the expectations of being everything to everyone, left him burnt out.
“This song is like returning to colour, returning to a sense of wonder, a sense of magic that still exists in the world, though it’s not where I was looking before,” says Cameron.
“The song definitely has spiritual images – and it has spiritual themes but, instead of being about a specific faith, I would describe it as a connection. I think people can listen to this song and find their own sense of connection – with parts of themselves they have neglected, with the feeling of ‘something greater’ or with another person.”
There’s a richness to Cameron’s work, particularly his singing, that resonates with shades of Cohen on the low end, with a literal and metaphorical depth. You can hear Arcade Fire popping in his lifts and just a touch of Gordon Lightfoot in the composition.
Cameron himself says he’s influenced by the giants of songwriting, naming inspirations like Jonsi & Alex, Sufjan, The National, Phoebe Bridgers, Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Milk Carton Kids, and Gregory Alan Isakov. For him, it means experimenting with heavily atmospheric sounds that require a certain breadth and artistry in terms of reverb, but Blue Acres also means escaping the trope of the “guy with guitar.”
“Not saying that I sound like these artists, but that’s what I love & that’s where I’m heading towards, eventually,” says Cameron. “I think Blue Acres opens up for more creative exploration in the future.”
Cameron says that he currently has six songs, originally intended for an EP, but that rebranding during the pandemic as Blue Acres now means they’ll be released as a series of singles. Blue Acres’ next single is expected to be released on October 23, 2020.