On Thursdays Del Osei-Owusu sits down with an artist on the FOTN radar and gets them to share their story over a cup of tea and biscuits. This week, it’s the turn of The Harpoonist and he brought Oreos!

Hello Shawn how are you?

Toasty like Avocado with Pickled Onions.

Congratulations on making the fresh faves with “Heartbreak Autobahn” – how does it feel?

Thank you! To be honest I feel like me and my good pal Jonas Shandel kinda channelled a Huey Lewis song, with a bit of George Michael’s ‘Faith’ peppered in.

What’s the story behind “Heartbreak Autobahn”?

It’s really a confession of raising the bar low (ha ha) held within the world of a dog and pony show.. I mean, fuck, who hasn’t done something in their lives at some point to feel half as tall as a full-grown Danny DeVito? It’s taking the piss out of trying to be an overachiever. In the end it’s really about acceptance of self and acceptance to be deserving of love. In other words, it’s the sweet and sour of the joyous absurdities of human behaviour.

You recorded it in Texas what’s your favourite memory of those sessions?

I loved working out in the country, miles outside of Austin. We were able to maintain a regular incubator sort of vibe, necessary and often not achieved in making records. Lots of espresso, and lots of Italian cuisine and gorgeous Texas sunsets in the heart of Willie Nelson country. Sometimes my producer had gigs later after our sessions and we hit places like the Safari Lounge, Upstairs at the famed Continental and late night tacos. It was by far and large my favourite album to make ever.

You’ve also just released a new album “Did We Come Here To Dance?” what’s your favourite track from it?

‘Good People’ is my favourite by a mile!! It challenges me/us as people to show up in life and connect more and mean it. Action, love, commitment, parenting, you name it. Ya know, be a better friend, son, dad.

You’re a singer songwriter and musician from Canada, how did it all begin for you?

I guess it would’ve been the late 80s in Toronto when I was 14 or 15. I discovered I could sing rock’n’roll at a talent show in front of 500 students at my school. We did these Rolling Stones songs like ‘Reelin and Rockin’, ‘The Spider and the Fly’, and Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B Goode’. That one show set off a fire in me that’s been burning ever since.

What did you listen to growing up?

My folks lived in East Africa in the 70s and missed a lot of rock’n’roll, however they had a lot of reggae music like Tosh, Marley, Toots, and some Hi-life from Ghana. They also had Dylan, some live Stones, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. This got me pretty into roots music and blues which I later combined and have had an endless love affair with my whole life finding and searching for my authentic voice as a White Canadian within this tapestry. I believe at 49 I’ve really landed on it and have been living in song for many years now with a role that’s uniquely mine to share.

You also play the harmonica, what inspired you to take it up?

My grandma gifted me a cassette tape and harp when I was 14, the same year of playing my school talent show and those two things combined a love of blues and folk blues music. At the time I was playing cello in school orchestra and exposed to great deal of music and talent from across Toronto so these combined elements really inspired me to dig into scenes and wet my whistle …. Ultimately the harp won over the cello.

Who’s your favourite harmonica player?

I don’t really listen to harp players often. Ask me about Hammond players, and I’m like John Medeski, Brother Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes, Lonnie Liston Smith, you name it.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Endless Tony Allen Grooves, Fela Kuti, Garcia, J-live, MF Doom, a lot of groove music ya know?

What are you looking forward to doing next?

I’m looking forward to reconnecting my music in the UK and coming out for the Great Escape, bringing my trio overseas and delivering these weird and groovy concoctions. I might dip back down to Texas to write another record and live that dream again, get some Vitamin D.

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