Originally hailing from Yellowknife, the capital city of Canada’s chilly Northwest Territories, Dana Sipos has crafted an interesting musical path for herself, one that brings to mind phrases like “off the beaten path.” This is not merely a metaphorical observation; having lived nomadically for some years now, she’s traveled Canada through various non-motorized forms of transportation, including bicycle and tall ship.
The uniqueness of her life’s experience is borne out rather beautifully on Roll Up the Night Sky, her latest full-length record. Below you can stream the dreamy little nocturne “Portraits”, which shows Sipos’ knack for smart chord progressions — check the tonal shift that comes in when the D major chord shines a little light on the otherwise somber minor key of the song.
Sipos explains the tune to PopMatters, “It’s that slightly unsettled feeling you get walking through an old house and all the portraits are watching you and you feel their eyes on the back of your neck. Knowing all the secrets that live beneath the creaking floorboards and in between the cracks but not knowing where to put them. That helpless feeling when you watch someone you love liquify from sadness and despair. It’s the stripping away of all the material that shields us and exposing ourselves to all the elements; physical, emotional, sacred, and the accompanying vulnerability. I wrote in during my residency at the Banff Centre when the snow started to fly and tried to cover everything up.”
Roll Up the Night Sky is out on 30 April via Muddy Roots.
Upcoming tour dates for Dana Sipos:
04/29 — Dundas, ON — Odd Fellows Hall *
04/30 — Toronto, ON — Musideum *
05/01 — Kingston, ON — Musiikki *
05/02 — Wakefield, ON — The Kaffe *
05/03 — Montreal, QC — Rocket Science Room *
05/04 — Montreal, QC — Le Cagibi *
05/05 — Burlington, VT — Radio Bean
05/06 — Hudson, NY — Spotty Dog
05/07 — New York, NY — Piano’s ^
05/11 — Brentwood, MD — The Waterhole
05/12 — Washington, DC — Electric Maid
05/13 — Takoma Park, MD — Maitri House
05/14 — Riverdale Park, MD — Riverdale Farmers Market
05/16 — Philadelphia, PA — Heartwood Music Festival
05/17 — Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Yard # ~
05/19 — Oberlin, OH — House Show ~
05/20 — Athens, OH — House Show ~
05/21 — Dayton, OH — Canal Public House ~
05/22-23 — Nashville, IN — Muddy Roots Spring Weekender Festival
05/22-23 — Nashville, TN — Muddy Roots Spring Weekender Festival
05/24 — Nashville, TN — Porch Show $
* with Ben Hermann
^ with Hollands
# with Turner Cody
~ with Morgan Orion
$ with Emma Louise & Ariel Bui