BRADEN LAM’S NEW SINGLE, “HIGHWAY JESUS” ARRIVES TODAY
WATCH / SHARE “HIGHWAY JESUS” (MUSIC VIDEO) HERE
BUY / STREAM “HIGHWAY JESUS” HERE
"Braden Lam's inviting voice rings out over gentle guitar and vibraphone on ‘Beautiful Neighbourhoods’, a timeless single that vibrates with warmth and longing." - CBC MUSIC
"Crafts an expansive but intimate sonic world for us to lose ourselves in" - Earmilk
"Calling to mind the happiest takes by Ben Howard or Tim Baker" - The Coast Halifax
Photo Credit : moosecanfly // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Blending authentic songwriting with modern indie flare, Braden Lam (he/him) is forging the path to a new 21st century folk. Today, the young artist from Halifax is following up previous single, “Beautiful Neighbourhoods”, with a new trip titled “Highway Jesus”.
“I had my first psychedelic mushroom experience one summer on Prince Edward Island… It was extremely healing,” explains Lam. “I felt the earth and trees reaching out to hold me as I cried, and forgave, and just released and realised so many emotions. On the way home from that weekend our car broke down in rural Nova Scotia and we had to call a friend to come get us off the side of the highway… I wrote down ‘saved by a Highway Jesus in a pickup truck’ in my phone notes that day, a place I usually drop quick song ideas or lyrics. I grew up in a religious community and I was religious myself until my early 20s, so I was also fresh off processing that and just followed these different threads of my life until they led me to this story of someone that gets into a car crash as they try to escape their rural hometown…
“The song ends with this sermon-style rant for why I left the church; ‘No I don’t need your eternity / I got textural energy / A worldly consistency / I was made for this’. I could no longer align with those values, the judgement, the whole living for some other life thing… when I had this current one to love and be fully present in.
“Honestly, with all this division and the way the world is heading right now, my bets are on magic mushrooms saving us all before religion ever does. ‘Oh my my I need some saving / I’m just another disciple of psilocybin.’
The song arrives with a trippy music video, directed and edited by Griffin O'Toole, which continues to explore the world of surrealism that was first introduced in the video for “Beautiful Neighbourhoods”. Here Braden is transported even further from reality via a magic portal to a field of dancing mushroom people. The idea for the video came to Braden from a roadside folk-art maze attraction on the South shore of Nova Scotia that is featured in the video.
WATCH / SHARE “HIGHWAY JESUS” (MUSIC VIDEO) HERE
BUY / STREAM “HIGHWAY JESUS” HERE
Single Art // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Previous single, “Beautiful Neighbourhoods”, takes you on a nostalgic and cinematic journey through the winding streets of Germany as Braden Lam, a third generation Canadian, retraces his ancestral steps in this indie-alternative single. Braden recounts a ghostly encounter he had while on tour in Europe last year, one that prompted him to visit local archives and reconnect with the places and culture his grandparents left behind to start a new life for themselves in Canada. This friendly visit bridges an understanding between the present (listener) and a romanticised version of the past (ghost) leaving both wondering - ‘Would you seek me out in the wilderness / These modern times are killing us’.
Both singles were recorded within an old church in the West end of Toronto, marking a new and refined chapter of Braden Lam’s focused storytelling through organic and timeless sounds thanks to the help of producer Eli Browning (Spencer Krug, Sister Ray), mix engineer Braden Sauder (Luna Li, The Kount), and musicians such as Matt Kelly and Johnny 99 (City and Colour), Lauren Dillen (of Burs).
WATCH / SHARE “BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBOURHOODS” (MUSIC VIDEO) HERE
BUY / STREAM “BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBOURHOODS” HERE
MORE ABOUT BRADEN LAM
Lam has previously been nominated for Music Nova Scotia’s SOCAN Songwriter of the Year award and multiple East Coast Music Awards for Songwriter, Album, and Solo Recording of the Year. He’s been endorsed by RBCxMusic and Harmony Guitars, and has toured around the world including at FOCUS Wales, The Great Escape in England, Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival, in Ireland, Scotland, and across Canada. His music has garnered over 1 million streams to date and has been featured on editorial playlists, SiriusXM North Americana, and on radio shows across Canada, the UK, and USA. Braden is a passionate advocate for the environment and ambassador for global organization Music Declares Emergency.