By Will Yannacoulias
Saskatoon songwriter Anna Haverstock has been enjoying an exciting November. Haverstock kicked off the month with a new single, the guitar-driven pick-up-the-pieces track “Reach Out To Me”, accompanied by a charming independently produced video. To celebrate the release, she gathered her band to perform a set at the Black Cat Tavern, splitting the bill with old friends Nic Nibbs & The ABC and Lipslackers. Her triumphant return to the stage behind her, Haverstock took a minute to talk with NSMZ about her new single.
Skullcreek Studios, operated by Aspen Beveridge and Leot Hanson, is involved in an impressive amount of the independent music coming out of Saskatchewan in the last few years, including Haverstock’s latest work. The choice to record with Skullcreek came about more organically than deliberately, she explained. “I was in a video for Leot’s summer single (Son Of Han’s “Dem Boyz”) and I saw the studio that day, and became interested in recording there. I’m so happy with the result and had a wonderful experience recording with Aspen and Leot.”
Haverstock has always been a gifted multi-instrumentalist, and returned to her DIY roots with “Reach Out To Me” by performing all the instruments alone. “I played and sang everything myself.” she explained. “Guitar, bass, drums, percussion, everything. I used to record myself that way in my mom’s basement and play every part - so I figured why not try it again and challenge myself to do it in a studio. I have a pretty regular band but because of Covid we hadn’t played in two years. Finally this past weekend we played again at Black Cat Tavern and it was so much fun.”
The release of the single was accompanied by a video, which was shot by Haverstock’s good friend and first-time filmmaker Laura Civica. As the province digs itself out from a two-day blizzard, the sunny scenes of Haverstock and friend Shelby Ramsay skateboarding, picnicking and enjoy a sun-soaked autumn day are especially sweet. “Laura and Shelby are friends of mine that I wanted to work with just for fun, to do something creative with people I know, and I really enjoy their ideas and company. They were immediately on board which was great! We all just wanted to have fun and learn something new by making this video together. I had a rough concept of us having fun in the park and wanted to keep it chill, entertaining and silly. I think we nailed it! We also lucked out with such a nice day for weather in November.”
The single, along with all of Anna Haverstock’s work, can be heard on all major streaming services. The “Reach Out To Me” video can be viewed here.