A local musician is set to release her 14-track album, “Strange Voodoo,” this Friday, which can be purchased online or listened to on all major music streaming platforms.
Ravyn Bedard of Fort Frances has a guitar focus, drawing influences from classic rock bands like Pantera, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin.
The 27-year-old guitarist said the record, as a whole, is best described as a live album in a recorded format.
“If you were to come see me live, that’s what it would be,” she noted.
“I don’t do anything on a record that I can’t reproduce live so it’s not layered in that way.”
Bedard is a 100 percent solo artist so she uses plug-ins for drums and other instruments before recording her vocals and guitar.
She said the album’s title track, “4th Floor,” has more of a “party rock” vibe to it and differs from her standard sound, but has been very well-received by those who have heard it.
Another song where Bedard did some experimenting was with “The Curse,” which has a bit more of a slow blues, rock vibe to it.
“I really liked that sound and wanted to include some of that style on this album,” she remarked.
The record also features some older titles that she did an overhaul of and rewrote for the album, which include “Rock House,” “New Frame,” and “Electric City.”
Other tracks like “Feed the Machine” and “Apocalypse Rising” maintain the same song structure but with rewritten guitar solos.
Since picking up a guitar at the age of 12 or 13, Bedard has been hooked, saying she plays every single day.
Her passion for creating music came after attending her first concert at the age of 15, when she saw Rob Zombie and Ozzy Osbourne in Winnipeg.
“That was when I first experienced the power and intensity of live music and I was hooked,” Bedard enthused.
“As soon as Rob Zombie stepped out onto that stage and went into the opening song, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with myself and my life.
“It was a very pivotal and important moment,” she added. “I came back [from the show] a different person than when I left.”
Bedard attributes much of her passion for music to attending that show. She loves the energy and feeling of a live performance, and hopes to play a bit in the summer once the album releases.
She has been working on the album since last June and what pushed her to get it recorded was her fans on social media asking her about original material.
Bedard is very active on Instagram, with more than 40,000 followers, and has more than 10 million video views in total through social media.
Creating the album was a bit of a learning process, she admitted, noting she had a few technical setbacks when mixing and mastering the music on her computer, but overall it has been a rewarding experience.
It’s a very tedious process to mix and master, and Bedard said it took her several tries to get everything sounding just right.
“I think I mixed everything about seven times, and I was making notes through all of it,” she recalled.
“There’s so many ways you can write a song, mix a song, master a song,” she added. “There’s so many different avenues you can go.
“So the ‘which way do I want to go’ part can be the most [difficult].”
Moving forward, Bedard hopes to perform her original music locally during the Legion’s music nights, at the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, or through other outlets here.
“Strange Voodoo” will be available March 22 and can be listened to on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, and YouTube Music, as well as purchased in a CD format through the distributing site at https://store.cdbaby.com
Bedard hopes to cut a few vinyl copies of the album, as well.
