The Guest List
Thursday August 14th, 2025 with Joe Reilly
We talk to singer-songwriter Ken Yates about his new album Total Cinema

It's always a pleasure to talk to Ken Yates about his music. This quiet, thoughtful singer-songwriter has recently released his fourth album, Total Cinema and it's another gem. We talk about the decision to work with Dan Ledwell in Nova Scotia as the producer of Total Cinema, after having Jim Bryson produce Ken's first three albums at his studio in Stitsville. Ken tells us about the contributions Dan Ledwell and percussionist Joshua Van Tassel made to these songs and how Jen Grant was part of the process. We also talk about the themes explored in these songs and how Ken feels they come from a more outward looking perspective than his previous album Cerulean. We also talk about Ken's upcoming concerts at the National Arts Centre, as he's doing two shows on the Fourth Stage on November 6th (at 6:00 and 8:30.) It's a great room for listening to Ken's intimate songs. A quick apology to Ken for saying Sidewinders each time I spoke about his song Sidewinder. Somehow I got it in my head that there was more than one sidewinder in that song.... but there isn't! For more information about Ken and his music: https://www.kenyates.com/ https://kenyates.bandcamp.com/album/total-cinema For tickets to see Ken Yates at the National Arts Centre on the Fourth Stage on November 6, use this link: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/39311 Thanks for listening to the Guest List today. Support independent music in any way that you can and get out to see some live music this week... or any week! And don't forget that The Guest List is sponsored by Spaceman Music, located at 388 Gladstone Avenue, just west of Bank. Visit Spaceman for all of your music making needs and don't forget they have a great repair shop and offer music lessons. Check out Spaceman online at: https://www.spacemanmusic.com/