RADAR: Matthew de Zoete

Ontario singer/songwriter Matthew de Zoete says "a darkened room, good headphones and a glass of single malt" are the preferred atmosphere and accompaniments to his new album Colour Film (May 8). And who are we to disagree? Armed with a sheaf of songs written on the farm where he lives with his wife and daughter, de Zoete worked with producer Les Cooper and some handpicked studio support to flesh out the tracks. The result is a project that gracefully moves from tender acoustic folk to densely layered art/pop, sometimes -- as on the fine album opener "The Good Life" -- within the same song. Hoping to make a "collection of songs that were direct and succinct enough to be the soundtrack for a short film", de Zoete brings that particular focus to the album's title track (video below) as images of his grandparents in home movies served as reflective inspiration: "I thought your life was black and white but it's colour now...to me".

Matthew de Zoete - "The Good Life" (from Colour Film)

Matthew de Zoete - "Going Nowhere" (from Colour Film)