NEW ALBUM, CERULEAN, DUE OUT JUNE 3, 2022
WATCH / SHARE “CONSOLATION PRIZE” FT. KATIE PRUITT HERE
BUY / STREAM “CONSOLATION PRIZE” FT. KATIE PRUITT HERE
PRE-ORDER CERULEAN HERE
TOUR DATES BEGIN THIS SUMMER
"An enchanting song of acceptance and resolve, Ken Yates’ “The Big One” is a soothing and stirring apocalyptic lullaby that finds refuge in the face of life’s fragility." Atwood Magazine
"Ken has earned a strong reputation as a bona-fide composer who combines his emotionally charged storytelling with some incredible and unforgettable melodies.” - Great Dark Wonder
“Yates has now asserted himself as one of Canada’s most unique folk artists with a true knack for effective songwriting.” Canadian Beats
Photo Credit : Jen Squires // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Today, singer-songwriter Ken Yates releases his second single from his upcoming full length, Cerulean. The accompanying snow-filled video for "Consolation Prize" featuring Katie Pruitt sees Yates lose a ski race and earn a consolation prize in the playful, Wes Anderson-inspired video directed by Adam Cook. The melancholic track finds Yates back with his sweet, signature guitar strums, only this time, exploring the depths of a heartbreaking unrequited love. FLOOD Magazine notes that “Consolation Prize features "downcast energy and confessional lyrics while adding layers to its lush soundscape.”
Explaining the origin of the track, Yates says, "I wrote this song as somewhat of a sequel to the song ‘Quiet Talkers’ from my last album. That song is about finding solace in the company of a complete stranger for a night. I wrote ‘Consolation Prize’ imagining how that relationship might look a few years in the future, with one of the characters falling in love, and the other person not feeling the same way. I think one of the hardest types of love is loving someone who doesn’t love you back, but still wishing the best for them."
Diving into the thought behind the video, Yates explains,"’Quiet Talkers’ uses footage of a retro ski ballet, so director Adam Cook and I came up with the idea of filming a retro, Wes Anderson style, cross-country ski race. We got a few friends together in minus 20 degree weather and strapped the camera operator to the back of a snowmobile to film us racing. I love trying to incorporate some of my hobbies into my music videos, and Adam and his crew were total champions for filming all day in freezing cold temperatures."
WATCH / SHARE “CONSOLATION PRIZE” FT. KATIE PRUITT HERE
BUY / STREAM “CONSOLATION PRIZE” FT. KATIE PRUITT HERE
In addition to the new music, Yates will be performing four live shows, with more to be added, this Summer across Ontario. Tickets are available now here.
MORE ABOUT KEN YATES & CERULEAN
Over the last decade, Ken Yates has solidified himself as a prolific musician, combining heartfelt lyricism, genuine authenticity and hypnotic guitar strums. After studying at the Berklee College of Music, Yates released The Backseat EP in 2011, followed by his full-length debut Twenty-Three in 2013. He won the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award in 2014 for his song "The One That Got Away" and released his second album, Huntsville, in 2016, produced by Jim Bryson. By 2017, Yates was making waves in folk with his poignant songwriting, winning the awards for Canadian Folk Music Award for both Songwriter of the Year and New Artist of the Year.
Now, with a fresh perspective and renewed sense of self, Yates brings honesty, growth and profound peace to his latest work, Cerulean. Nonetheless, Cerulean feels like a hard reset on Yates’ art and artistry. Reuniting with producer Jim Bryson, the album firmly steps into indie folk and alternative territories – he cites Big Thief, Andy Shauf, and The War On Drugs as a few of his inspirations.
Cerulean meets Yates at his darkest and most vulnerable, as he transforms the pain of grief, fear and loss into an 11-track quest towards hope, light and peace. A crucial vehicle out of the depths of darkness and bitterness for Yates, Cerulean serves as a powerful reemergence filled with his signature remarkable vocal intimacy as well as a profound yet candid peak into the universal human experience.
In May 2020, Yates released his third album, Quiet Talkers, which was met with high praise from tastemakers like Atwood Magazine, who wrote the album's track, "Surviving is Easy" is "an earnest, heartfelt rendering of everyday struggle." Praise also has come in the form of a co-sign from fellow musician John Mayer who said, “Want to hear a great song? I mean a REALLY great song? Ken Yates wrote a tune called “I Don’t Wanna Fall In Love” and posted a live video of it on YouTube. This song moved me when I first heard it and it still does today.”
Read Ken Yates’ full biography by Mitch Mosk at : www.killbeatmusic.com/kenyates
PRE-ORDER CERULEAN HERE
CERULEAN TRACKLIST
01. The Big One (feat. Kathleen Edwards)
02. The Future Is Dead
03. Don’t Mean To Wake You (feat. Stephanie Lambring)
04. Consolation Prize (feat. Katie Pruitt)
05. Small Doses
06. Best Of The Broken Things
07. Honest Light (feat. Caroline Marie Brooks)
08. Half Clenched Teeth
09. Good Things (feat. Liz Longley)
10. Grocery Store
11. Cerulean
KEN YATES LIVE
June 19 - Smith's Falls, ON - Bowie’s
June 19 - London, ON - Aeolian Hall
June 25 - Hamilton, ON - Mills Hardware w/ Abigail Lapell
June 27 - Londonderry, NH - Concerts on the Common
All tickets can be found HERE
*** More dates will be announced soon ***
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