Former Moncton musician Rick White breaks six year recording hiatus with new single, ‘Tomorrow’.
Matt Carter
It’s been six years since Rick White has released any new music, although many continue to draw inspiration from his has vast archive. Through his many recording/performing projects which include Eric’s Trip, Orange Glass, Elevator and countless others including numerous collaborations, White is regarded by many as a godfather of Canadian indie rock music.
While he’ll always be recognized as a prolific and influential songwriter, it’s no secret White has never been a fan of the attention his music generated, and after more than 20 years of low-fi recording and highly personal songwriting, he took a well-deserved break beginning in 2012.
In the liner notes for his latest single Tomorrow, White explains a bit about his decision to step away from music.
“After having music as my main creative outlet since the late 80’s, I guess I just got burnt out on the process,” he said. “I felt like I was writing the same songs over and over and lost the inspirational feeling and care about what I was coming up with. Lost the point of making and performing music all together. I put a lot of detailed thought and emotion into 2009’s 137 double album and looking back now, I see that it was lyrically a goodbye to the process. Or to that version of me. It seemed hard to continue after.”
Over the past nine years, much of his attention has been directed towards building and filming incredibly detailed RC models. Check out his incredibly collection of videos here.
On October 21, White posted the track Tomorrow, an existential contemplation on his journey through music, complete with all the trademark sonic elements that have come to define much of his work.
I need some words to sing, but my words don’t mean a thing, like tomorrow.
Paired with a cover of The Cure’s Three Imaginary Boys, this release is no indication White will be back at his four-track recorder with the same regularity he was once known for. After all, as he’s proven from the start, he isn’t one to get in the way of his own creativity. So for now, let’s just be happy he’s picked up his guitar again and leave it at that.
