Joel Henderson has become known for his talents in folk music.
The former Estevan resident, who now resides in Regina, has released an EP and two full-length albums, the most recent of which was Bravery back in 2016.
But he also loves writing music, and that love has been rewarded by the judges of a national competition.
Henderson, who performs under the name Poor Nameless Boy, is a finalist for a Canadian Songwriting Competition Award in the electronic category for the song Damage. The finalists were announced on March 28.
He collaborated with two Danish musicians, Vinze and David West, as well as Gianluigi Fazio of Italy, to write Damage. It was performed by Vinze, and features Poor Nameless Boy.
The song was recorded while Henderson was on a European music tour in the spring of 2017.
鈥淲hen they originally sent me the track that the DJ had written, I wrote some stuff for it, and then I went back and I studied the song format a bit more,鈥� said Henderson. 鈥淚 realized I needed to write something a bit different, and so I went back and I rewrote it, similar to what it is now, and then we arranged it, added a few things and added a bridge 鈥� while we were in studio.鈥�
Not only was it the first time he had collaborated with Vinze, West and Fazio, he didn鈥檛 know any of them before. The session was arranged through his publisher, which has connections to the European music scene.
鈥淚t was so easy to work with them. It was really, really fun,鈥� said Henderson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 funny because I haven鈥檛 done a lot of co-writes, but I鈥檝e done enough to know that it takes a little bit to get comfortable with people if you鈥檝e never done it before.鈥�
Music and song-writing are the lives of the people he worked with, and they love to write with other musicians.
Henderson flew into Cologne, Germany, the day before the recording session, and then he travelled to the studio in Copenhagen, Denmark, the following day. It only took about four hours to finish writing the song and to record it in Denmark.
Damage is a song about looking back on a failed relationship, Henderson said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those fast love kind of stories, where you meet someone and then everything鈥檚 overwhelming, and you are really just infatuated with the person,鈥� said Henderson.
鈥淚t鈥檚 looking back on the situation and thinking if we would have known the effects that we would have on each other during that time, would we have done that again? Would we have gone in that quickly again?鈥�
It鈥檚 a fun summer-style song with an upbeat rhythm, he said.
Henderson is looking forward to seeing the musicians he worked with again the next time he is in Europe.
He was surprised that he was a finalist for the award, and to be nominated in the electronic category. But it鈥檚 a great feeling to be one of the finalists.
鈥淚 like writing in other genres,鈥� said Henderson. 鈥淚 like writing with other people and trying new things and seeing what comes out. I鈥檝e always had good feedback, positive feedback, from a song, so that鈥檚 all I can do.鈥�
Henderson said his recording label submitted the song for the award, and it鈥檚 usually the label that looks after nominations for honours such as this. Even though the song was recorded out of the country, and most of the people who worked on the song are European, Henderson was still eligible for the Canadian award. 聽
He would like to write more electronic music moving forward. His co-writing opportunities in Regina have been in country, roots and Americana genres. Henderson said electronic music is bigger in Europe.
鈥淚 would love to keep writing it, but it鈥檚 the opportunity. You never know who you鈥檙e going to meet and collaborate with,鈥� he said.
But don鈥檛 expect to hear an electronic song on his next album, which is in the works. Henderson said his next album is going to be a little bit different, but he is going to stick with that folk music he has become known for, with a focus on the song-writing.
A release date for that next album hasn鈥檛 been announced, but he said the recording is almost finished. 聽
