Van Norden is an artist deeply and unapologetically influenced by the the great singer-songwriters of the early 70’s; Neil Young, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot and Carole King. His work bridges the genre gap between the narrative, poetic folk style of a Suzanne Vega and the stylistic range of a Joel Plaskett or Bruce Cockburn. His new work might be described as just a little less alt-country than a Ryan Adams, but just as varied.

Van Norden’s songs cover heartbreak and regret, faith and forgiveness, addiction and obsession as well as isolation and connection. The music is deeply rooted in acoustic instrumentation and the newest tunes have become more spontaneous and emotive. Strong narratives, compelling story-telling and emotional authenticity are the benchmarks he strives for.

The “Back In One Piece” album was recorded and produced by Aaron Cockburn, accomplished roots rocker Leeroy Stagger, and by Juno-winning producer Steve Dawson. Personnel for the album include the best of the roots and Americana talent pool in Vancouver and in Victoria B.C., where Van Norden is based. Expect a bit of folk roots, a bit of Americana and a bit of acoustic pop on the album.

Van Norden:

“I want my writing to be diverse. My favourite album, my desert island album, is the “white” album. I love the chaos, I love the jarring transitions, I love the variety and pastiche and I love the apparent inconsistency. Except that it feels like a unified body of work.”

“My father had a varied record collection; orchestral music, opera, Irish folk music and dixieland jazz. Growing up we lived in northern British Columbia and there was just one radio station that had to cover all genres”.

“There are some albums I have listened to more times than I can count, including the “white” album, Neil Young’s “Harvest”, CSNY’s “Deja Vu” and “So Far”. Other artists that I was listening to and seemed to inspire me were Cat Stevens, Paul Simon, Leo Kottke and Gordon Lightfoot. For me everything begins with acoustic guitar, it all starts with “wooden” music.

“I think about authenticity a lot. It’s a journey, to use a hopelessly over-used term. I try and get closer and closer to truth, and the fact that I may never get there is of no consequence to me. I love the creative process, and I live for those incredibly rare moments of ecstatic realization of self - the process of writing a song about someone else and then realizing it’s about yourself, the process of writing something down with creative detachment and then having the emotion hit you like a bolt of lightning when you read it back later. I have so much to learn”.

“Part of the process of approaching authenticity is to surround myself with the best possible musicians and collaborators. The team on this project is extraordinarily talented, so I didn’t have to suggest parts for them to play. I specified the emotions they needed to hit, and they found those emotions”.