PREVIEW
Coco Love Alcorn
With St. Albert Catholic High School Pop-Up Choir
Tuesday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Arden Theatre
5 St. Anne Street
Tickets: $35. Call 780-459-5511
It’s been close to 18 months since Coco Love Alcorn’s new album, Wonderland, was released. Although no longer in the initial release phase, Alcorn retains a loyal following and remains a sparkling draw on the touring cycle.
The talented vocalist is performing a couple of engagements in Western Canada. She stops at the Arden Theatre on Tuesday, May 8 to sing a benefit concert for Star of the North Retreat Centre.
Enjoying a career that has spanned 20 years, eight albums, cross-Canada tours, collaborations, festival appearances and award nominations, Alcorn has navigated a spirited journey.
Having spent the better part of the last seven years raising her daughter, Elle, the Ontario based singer-songwriter had the urge to kick-start those creative juices once more. Her previous album, Play, was released in 2011.
“Music has always been a strong calling for me, and I needed to go back to it. I hope she (Elle) understands someday you can follow your calling, and try to find that balance between relationships and your calling,” said Alcorn.
The singer recorded Wonderland's original material using a five-track digital loop station. By adopting this fresh approach, she was able to simply layer her voice and create new rhythms.
The hauntingly serene song, The River, was her first composition released in 2014 as a homemade video on YouTube using a looper.
Layering her vocals created an effect similar to a multi-voiced choir blending influences from folk, jazz, soul and gospel.
“Wonderland was the first album where I was not hopping around from genre to genre. It’s an album where I’m knitting them all together. There’s the spirit of improvisation from jazz. There’s the deep passion and rhythm of gospel where people acknowledge struggles. From folk music, I’ve always loved to write choruses that are singable, but I aim for something deeper than contemporary radio play. And there’s the fun elements of pop music,” Alcorn said.
Once she posted The River on YouTube, the unexpected happened. The video spread through the international choral community. To date more than 30 choirs around the world have borrowed her arrangements.
Similar to many artists hoping for success, Alcorn initially tried to make her songs and albums fit into a radio friendly format.
“But I didn’t know how. So I released myself from that. I just want to let things flow in a more natural way.”
The daughter of John Alcorn, one of Canada’s premiere jazz interpreters, Coco Love Alcorn believes his musical influence has come through her.
“He’s one of my favourite performers. He has a gift for singing lyrics and you can’t help being pulled into the song. Most performers strive to do that, but he has a special knack, and he’s always had a very good ear for harmonies.”
Born in Antigonish, raised in Vancouver and Toronto, Alcorn spent much of her youth soaking up music. It was so deeply embedded in her DNA she won three scholarships to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.
“I was there for one semester and loved it. But I ended up going back to Vancouver and doing job gigs. And I haven’t looked back. I loved the academic work, but I wanted to do the part connecting with an audience,” Alcorn said.
In the early ‘90s, Vancouver attracted a wealth of dynamite jazz musicians to its dedicated venues. The beautiful young singer with a seductive voice quickly found a non-stop series of steady gigs.
HB Concept, a trendy Vancouver pop cover band, invited her to Bangkok for a four-month stint. She accepted.
“At that time there was a large market for North American bands, and I had this curiosity about other genres.”
While in Asia, Alcorn bought a low-quality, black acoustic guitar and during her down time at the hotel, she started composing songs in the Joni Mitchell/Janet Jackson vein.
Upon her return to Vancouver, she released a self-titled CD that combined jazz standards and original material. The 1995 release packed a 400-seat theatre. Several demo deals from BMG Records followed.
Since her debut album, Alcorn has opened for heavy hitters including Burton Cummings, Chantal Kreviazuk, Jesse Cook and Ani DiFranco. She’s also performed on Lilith Fair.
At the Star of the North Retreat concert, the enthusiastic performer is bringing a looper and ukulele, two instruments easily carried onto a plane.
“I’m really excited to come and collaborate with the St. Albert Catholic High Pop-Up Choir,” she said adding they will sing two songs together.
