Basia Bulat: Already Forgiven
The highly-regarded folk-pop songstress returns with a song showcasing her pure and emotionally expressive voice. A richly cinematic video is a bonus.
By Kerry Doole
Basia Bulat - Already Forgiven (Secret City Records): It has been nearly four years since the last album from the highly-respected folk/pop singer/songwriter. A new full-length, Are You in Love?, comes out on March 27, preceded by this new song and video.
She dug deep for this track, she explains in a press release. "I wanted to write a song about one of the concepts I’ve struggled with the most since childhood, the idea of forgiveness. The word [forgiven] means something different to everyone and I have spent a long time trying to figure out what it means to me.
"I felt like I had been trying for many years to accept and acknowledge the pain and past suffering without letting it define me or hold me back, and while writing this song I feel like I finally found a space in my mind that lets those thoughts flow like water through my hands. A place that has clarity and stillness but also moves like a breeze. And it feels like it’s always been there but the path to it is fickle and difficult—singing these lyrics for the album was one of the hardest days for me, because I really wanted to believe myself when I was singing, and that feeling determines its own schedule.”
Bulat's highly recognisable strong and pure voice is front and centre here, conveying her emotions with clarity. The accompanying video was shot on Kodak 16mm film and has a richly cinematic feel.
Co-director Brian Sokolowski states “our decision to shoot on 16mm film was motivated by our collective desire to capture a certain texture and dustiness that is hard to achieve with digital. There’s always a certain risk and an intense focus and rhythm you get into when shooting on film, and that feeling of pressure and uncertainty, of potential, lent itself really well to the project.”
For the album, Bulat joined forces once again with Jim James of noted US band My Morning Jacket for the new album (James also produced her 2016 release Good Advice).
Bulat is a three-time Polaris Music Prize finalist and has been nominated for three Juno Awards. She kicks off a North American run of shows this spring, with headlining shows in Chicago, Nashville, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia and more. She will also be performing at South by Southwest in March. See tour dates here
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