Hidden Track

We all remember the moment we discovered that secret song on one of our favourite albums. Often, those hidden gems provide a revealing peek behind-the-curtain, leading us to new insights about the artists and recordings we thought we knew. CKUA’s Hidden Track podcast aims to do the same, by bringing you stories that change the way you experience music. Any given week, we’ll get to the heart of the song with the musician who wrote it, reflect on a landmark recording with the producer and engineer who helped shape it, or examine the legacy of a musical icon with the critic, biographer or industry player who knows them best. Whoever the guest may be, each episode will provide a moment of discovery you won’t soon forget.

Ep 13 | Anoushka Shankar 06/08/2019

Ep 13 | Anoushka Shankar It’s rare to perform your first gig to a few thousand people at a celebration for a musical icon. That's the pulse-pounding experience that ushered Anoushka Shankar into the public sphere. Anoushka has been making records since she was a teen, under the tutelage of sitar master Ravi Shankar. She fuses her training in Indian classical sitar with everything from flamenco, electronica, Latin music to folk-pop. She talks to us about growing up the child of an icon, and how she’s carving out a legacy of her /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/10099268

Ep 12 | Kat Danser 05/31/2019

Ep 12 | Kat Danser Kat Danser's chance encounter with Al Green in a parking lot in Memphis was part of an experience that put her on a path to a place in her life that she could never even have dreamt of when she was growing up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan. On the eve of her induction into the Edmonton Blues Hall of Fame, Grant Stovel talks to the musician and ethnomusicologist about her journey into music at 33, and her Ph. D studies in blues and roots music of the American south. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/10003685

Ep 11 | Shawn Everett 05/24/2019

Ep 11 | Shawn Everett Shawn Everett is one of the most in-demand and hardest-working production minds in music today. His skills as a recording engineer, producer, and mix engineer have been put to use on albums by The War on Drugs, Alabama Shakes, Kacey Musgraves, John Legend, Kurt Vile, and Vampire Weekend. He's garnered a boatload of Billboard #1 Albums, and Grammys. He’ll tell us the story of the life journey that has taken him from growing up in small-town Alberta – to having the world beat a path to his door in L.A. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9903362

Ep 10 | The Who's 'Tommy' at 50 05/17/2019

Ep 10 | The Who's 'Tommy' at 50 It was a ground-breaking, game-changing, mold-shattering album. The Who's 'Tommy' was one of the best-selling rock albums of its day; hailed universally as a creative breakthrough. What led to 'Tommy' is a remarkable story. What happened following it is even more fascinating. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9817694

Ep 9 | Stewart Copeland 05/09/2019

Ep 9 | Stewart Copeland The legendary drummer and composer talks to Grant about his latest project, Stewart Copeland’s Orchestral Ben-Hur, which comes to Edmonton’s Winspear Centre this month. Stewart shares the story behind his rich cultural upbringing, growing up the child of a C.I.A agent stationed in Cairo, Egypt. He also reflects on founding The Police alongside Sting, an epic jam session with Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson of Rush that had an unfortunate ending, and his score for Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Rumble Fish.’ /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9723173

Ep 8 | Neko Case 05/02/2019

Ep 8 | Neko Case Grant talks to Neko Case about her latest record 'Hell-On', co-produced by Bjorn Yttling (Peter Bjorn and John) and recorded in Stockholm. That’s where Neko was when she found out her home in Vermont had burned down. We'll hear her surprisingly zen outlook on the fire. Plus, Neko tells us about finally claiming the title of "producer" after 20 years in the music business. We'll also hear about how her collaboration with k.d. lang and Laura Veirs changed her approached to her 7th studio album. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9631931

Ep 7 | The Pixies' Doolittle at 30 04/26/2019

Ep 7 | The Pixies' Doolittle at 30 Doolittle was released thirty years ago this month. It’s an album bursting with arresting-yet-mysterious imagery, captivating-yet-cryptic lyrics, and breathtakingly unexpected musical dynamics and departures. There’s a whole world in there. A world we’ll explore with Ben Sisario, author of 'Doolittle', part of the 33 1/3 series. For his book, Ben interviewed Black Francis at a pivotal time in the Pixies’ story – just as they were reuniting in the 21st Century after a fifteen-year breakup. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9537674

Ep 6 | Kobo Town 04/18/2019

Ep 6 | Kobo Town Drew Gonsalves talks calypso with Lark Clark on this week's Hidden Track podcast. The founding member of JUNO-winning outfit Kobo Town. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9451670

Ep 5 | Judy Collins 04/13/2019

Ep 5 | Judy Collins It's not everyday you get to chat with a music legend, cultural force, and intergenerational icon. This week, Grant Stovel talks to folk music giant Judy Collins. Her work as a song stylist launch to fame songwriters like Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, and Ian Tyson. We'll hear about those relationships, and the struggles and demons that have clawed at her along the way. 60 years into her career, Collins has emerged as a self-actualized artist who is just hitting her professional stride. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9377951

Ep 4 | Shakey Graves 04/05/2019

Ep 4 | Shakey Graves Alejandro Rose-Garcia burst onto the scene in 2011 armed with a suitcase outfitted with a kick pedal, and his acoustic guitar. He was soon mesmerizing audiences with his spectacular one-man-band performances. His 2014 release 'And the War Came,' yield the smash single “Dearly Departed," and earned him slots on the Late Show with David Letterman, and Austin City Limits. Alejandro talks to Grant Stovel about his vision his latest release 'Can't Wake Up', and his sincere love for The Spice Girls. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9283238

Ep 3 | Ode to Bobbie Gentry 03/29/2019

Ep 3 | Ode to Bobbie Gentry She skyrocketed to fame with a song unlike anything heard before. "Ode to Billie Joe" was driven by Bobbie Gentry's trademark acoustic guitar groove, and that low Mississippi drawl that seemed like it was murmuring secrets in your ear. On this episode, Grant Stovel explores the captivating legacy of an artist who has one of music's most sensational success stories, and most enigmatic disappearing acts. Tara Murtha, author of 'Bobbie Gentry's 'Ode to Billie Joe'', on this week's Hidden Track podcast. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9184331

Ep 2 | Feist 03/21/2019

Ep 2 | Feist This week, Leslie Feist talks to Grant Stovel about how a conscious shift in perspective guided the approach to her latest album, Pleasure. She’ll tell us about the “dark nights of the soul” that led her to finding a better work-life balance. Plus, Leslie reflects on her tributes to Leonard Cohen, Gord Downie, and the milestone anniversary of her appearance on Sesame Street. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9097265

Ep 1 | Jeremy Dutcher 03/14/2019

Ep 1 | Jeremy Dutcher Grant Stovel welcomes musician, classically trained operatic tenor and composer Jeremy Dutcher. His stunning Polaris Prize-winning debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa blends his training in opera, his contemporary musical sensibility, and features post-classical rearrangements of Wolastoq First Nation traditional music. /episode/index/show/hiddentrack/id/9009929

Hidden Track

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