Braden Lam's 'Strange Paradise': Love, Heartbreak, and Healing
WRITTEN BY: MITCHELL JODREY // THE BOOM AT NOON
Braden Lam (Photo: Griffin O’Toole)
On April 7, Halifax singer-songwriter Braden Lam is releasing his third EP, ‘Strange Paradise’. Five years removed from the release of his debut EP ‘Driftwood People’, Braden has proven himself to be a mainstay in the East Coast music scene, earning several nominations and accolades along the way. Just this year, he’s up for two East Coast Music Awards - Song of the Year and Music Video TD Fans' Choice Video of the Year.
While in university, obtaining degrees in Biology and Environmental Science, Braden realized he wanted music to be his career. ”Coming out of high school, many people think music is something you do for fun, then you go off to university and maybe that dream gets crushed or forgotten,” said Braden. Reinforcing how much he wanted to do music and to make it a priority.
With his latest EP, Braden shifts away from the indie-pop-leaning sound of his previous release, as he returns to his songwriting roots. “I think there's a better structure to these songs and the stories that are on them,” said Braden. ”This album is a bit more mature in my writing and in the topics and the depth and ability for me to tell a story.”
‘Strange Paradise’ is an unintentional concept album that most people can relate to. “I didn't set out to write a story from start to end but it turned out that this batch of songs told a story arc of falling in and out of love with someone,” he said, adding that the story starts when the two main characters first meet and follows them until their eventual falling out. “The album title ‘Strange Paradise’ comes from the point of in between, the limbo, the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows of love and being in that space where you're starting to tell yourself lies to make you believe that you should stay with this person or that they're still in love with you when in reality, you know, they've already moved on and really the right thing to do is for you to also move on but you can't let go of that person.”
Leading up to its release, Braden has put out several singles that are part of this narrative. “I love to spin fiction around lived experience. I'll take a small moment that inspired me and then maybe two years later, pick it up and write a fictional kind of world,” said Braden. In the song ‘Don’t Let Go,’ from the album, Braden sings about strong love - the kind that makes you go to desperate, messy lengths to get them back. The music video for ‘Don’t Let Go’ is nominated for an East Coast Music Award - TD Fans' Choice Video of the Year. The music video is chapter one of two, the second featuring his next single, ‘White Dress',’ which follows the narrator as they watch their former lover get married.
In February, he released the next single, ‘Linen Sheets.’ The song was written and performed with his wife, Faith and closes the album on a happy note. “It’s like, okay, I’ve moved on; I think I can love again. You’re sort of opening yourself up again to the possibility of exploring that with someone else,” he said.
‘Death Threat’ was released in March and describes an encounter between the main characters after they have supposedly moved on. “I love imagining really unique scenarios like in ‘Death Threat,’” said Braden. “I really like storytelling, so it's a bit of fiction, a bit of non-fiction - it's kind of up to the listener to figure it out,” he added.
In support of his EP release, Braden will be heading on a tour around the East Coast and will be performing as a trio. “I have been doing solo and duo shows for the past couple of years,” said Braden. “It’s going to be me on the acoustic guitar and kick drum, I’m going to have Avery Dakin on keys and Justin Lamb on electric guitar and they’re both singing, so it will be three-part harmonies,” he added.
His Halifax release party is at The Carleton on April 20 and will have John Muirhead and The Gilberts opening the show. He also has an ECMA Showcase at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth on May 5.
“I'm still learning as a songwriter. Hopefully, I always am. But especially in the early phases of my career, I think each project is a new chance to raise the bar,” he said. “I'm really excited for people to have a new foundation for what my music sounds like.”
‘Strange Paradise’ is out on April 7.
