Raine Maida 'A Hunter's Lullaby' album

Raine Maida, best known for his gig fronting iconic Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace, has branched off on his own and created the record he was always meant to make. The Hunter's Lullaby, set to hit on August 26th (Kingnoise Records) is a collection of 10 commanding songs that are poignant and lyrical, delivered in a style reminiscent of the 60's beat poets with hip hop influenced beats of today. A courageous album by an artist who is reveling in the freedom of creative and commercial independence.

The Hunter's Lullaby was created over the span of a year in Raine's private studio. Recorded using purely acoustic instruments, Maida gathered many of his nearest and dearest musician friends to help shape the record. His talented wife Chantal Kreviazuk plays piano and lends her unique vocals to several of the albums tracks. Victor Indrizzo (Beck, Gnarls Barkley) started the drum sessions with Raine back in the summer of 2006. Joseph Karnes(John Cale, My Brightest Diamond) contributed the stand up bass while Randy Cooke (Dave Stewart) laid down the majority of the drums and percussion.

Album title The Hunter's Lullaby speaks to the fact that every person must ultimately venture out on their own to determine the meaning of life. Evocative and haunting track "The Less I Know" confronts religion and Raine's relationship with his own Catholic upbringing. The mesmerizing "China Doll" was inspired by Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth.' The lyric, "Sour like democracy," laced into the poetry of this particular track became the sub theme to the album, a sub theme that lays out Raine's love/hate relationship with politics. First single "Yellow Brick Road" is about mass consumerism and the changing priorities of society, the song sees him addressing a world that is beginning to prioritize material belongings before real change. Raine writes "I'm not exactly sure where my record fits in today's musical landscape, but I take comfort in that. I have two very young children who will one day judge me by this work."

Whereas Our Lady Peace found a home with Columbia, Raine has decided to forego the major label for this solo endeavor and will release The Hunter's Lullaby through his own label, Kingnoise Records. Eschewing the usual big budget video as well, Raine, a long time supporter of War Child teamed up with the organization to create a low budget mini-documentary for "Yellow Brick Road" that had him hitting the streets of Toronto, busking to raise $30,000 to help rebuild a school in Congo.

biography
I am a singer.
I am a songwriter.
I am not an entertainer, although I can be entertaining. Alcohol.
I never knew how much I truly loved music until I bought The Unforgettable Fire.
I write and record music because it is the evidence of life.
I have yet to wrap my head around the distinction between pretentious and earnest.
I’m either hopelessly misunderstood or an idiot.
I am a Monday morning activist.
I’ve filmed Documentaries in Iraq and Darfur and work closely with various charities.
I drive a hybrid vehicle, shop with cloth grocery bags, buy mostly organic local foods but yet feel as though I’m living a cliché.
I dislike Yoga.
Love Bruce Lee and the UFC.
I know some real activists.
They humble me.
I feel as though I am a witness and the armed robbery is life happening right before my very eyes.
I don’t want to be the guy in the 7-11 hiding behind the candy bar aisle.
I started a band named in 1992 named Our Lady Peace.
Name taken from a Mark Van Doren World War 2 poem.
We signed to Columbia Records, sold millions, did all the late night talk shows and shared the stage with everyone from The Ramones to Willie Nelson to The Deftones and Neil Young.
I enjoy producing music. The stuff I’m most proud of you’ve probably never heard of. Men Women and Children, People in Planes. Billy the Kid, Dearly Beloved
I spent the last year making a solo record.
It was written, recorded and produced by me in my home studio mostly late at night.
I approached the music completely differently from anything I’ve done before.
Poems, beats then chord progressions.
In my studio sits a 2-foot high stack of books and magazines
Used sparingly throughout the recordings.
Emerson, Banksy, Ginsberg, Adbusters, The Fader, Buckminster Fuller, Nikki Giovanni.
See what I mean...that delicate balance between pretentious vs. earnest.
Theme of the record...”the quest to be a decent human being”
Title...The Hunters Lullaby
The explanation...Ultimately you must venture out on your own to determine the meaning of life.
“Its hard work” (squinch your face and repeat with a Texas accent)
It should all be coming together now.
Songs.
“Earthless” (track 4) song about courage from the eyes of a young girl struggling with being a young girl
“The Less I Know” religion...raised catholic. Got over it but still say the Our Father before I take off when flying. Jared Paul speaks at the end of the track. War is on his mind.
“China Doll” inspired by Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. The Lyric “Sour like democracy” ends up being a sub theme of the record and my love hate relationship with politics.
All songs recorded with acoustic instruments only.
The players...Victor Indrizzo (Beck, Gnarls Barkley) started the drum sessions with me back in the summer of 06.
Joseph Karnes played all the stand up bass (John Cale, Pedestrian, My Brightest Diamond) Chantal Kreviazuk played piano and sang Randy Cooke (Dave Stewart) ended up cutting the majority of the drums and percussion.
Jared Paul guested on a track. (Back to what I was discussing earlier... he’s the real deal. social worker, marched in over 100 protest/rallies ...blah blah blah)
Recently I’ve shared the stage with artists such as Saul Williams, Jello Biafra and Peaches I’ve begun performing in spoken word festivals
William Blake, Allen Ginsberg, Walt Whitman, Jack Kerouac.
University of Toronto Literature classes.
Buddy Wakefield, Sage Francis, Suheir Hammad, Anis Mogjani.
Poetry Slam DVD’s bought with Visa card from Amazon.
Spoken word is what gets me off these days.
Probably because it makes feel so damn insecure.
It’s much more relevant than music.
I get the same feeling from spoken word today as the first time I heard Nirvana’s “smells like teen spirit.”
I’m not exactly sure where my record fits in this musical climate.
For the first time in my musical journey I own the music fully and completely. This excites me.
I’m not sure where it fits in today’s musical landscape.
I take comfort in that.
I have two very young children who will one day judge me by this work.
Fear and courage are brothers.

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Raine Maida - A Hunter's Lullaby