Kalle Mattson: Strangers ( Rainer + Grimm remix)

By Kerry Doole

Kalle Mattson - "Strangers ( Rainer + Grimm remix)" (Indie): The fact that Kalle Mattson's website is entitled folkisdead shows that he is keen to break out of the solo singer/songwriter straitjacket. That helps explain his willingness to take risks like this one, bringing in  DJ duo Rainer + Grimm (The Weeknd, Allan Rayman, Drake) to remix one of his tracks (it is released today).

In a press release, Mattson states  "This one is for anyone who’s thought: 'I wish this DJ would play something upbeat AND SAD.' “Seriously though, it’s pretty surreal to hear your own song remixed for the first time. The Rainer + Grimm guys did a great job. Catch you in the club.”

The experiment is a definite success, with Mattson's characteristically sweet, fragile vocals neatly augmented by the incessant beats.

Mattson's previous work earned him a Polaris-longlisted slot, and his most recent album, Youth, has been very well-received, described as a "coming-of-age" album in which he explores his upbringing in Sault Ste. Marie. His bio notes that Mattson "credits 'the Soo' with giving him ambition—to get the heck out of there. He wanted to write about his friends who are still there, and about his generation who are now between adolescence and adulthood."

Beginning April 25, Mattson will join longtime cohort Jim Bryson on the Road To Riverfest tour, with stops throughout Ontario on the way to Riverfest where both songwriters will perform this summer. Full tour dates here 

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Publicity: Ken Beattie, Killbeat