Like many artists, Ontario’s Michael Schatte (pronounced SHAW-tee) has put time afforded by the recent COVID lockdown to extremely good use. He has spent much of the past several months putting the finishing touches on a highly anticipated new studio album called Conundrum.
Following his 2015 release of Turn Back the Vikings, the Ontario-based guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer/engineer was hailed as “one of the best undiscovered songwriters of our times” (Blues Matters! U.K.) and a “Canadian guitar great” (The London Free Press).
Now, a little over a month away from the Conundrum launch on September 25th, Schatte has given his fans a taste of what is coming with the release of a music video for his new song “Water In the Kettle”, the opening cut on the record and a showcase for his unique blend of virtuosic guitar playing, literate and witty song writing, and considerable chops as a record producer/engineer.
Combining rock, blues, and Celtic into what he calls “Eclectic Electric Roots Music”, Water In the Kettle and the other fourteen tracks on the new record illustrate why Schatte’s original music “falls superbly somewhere between the folk-rock musings of Richard Thompson and the Canuck blues edge of Colin James.” (Uptown Magazine, Winnipeg)
With the new video, you’ll experience Schatte’s barn-burning guitar playing along with his facility on the fiddle, helped along by an ace team of session musicians captured at Bibliotech, his recording studio.
Stay tuned for news about his new album, Conundrum, due out September 25th.
