Less than a week from today, local musician Ingrid Gatin will be secluded in a cabin in the forests of northern Saskatchewan, alone with an accordion and a looping pedal, penning songs for her upcoming solo album.

The road to the cabin started in 2006, when Gatin moved from Brandon to Winnipeg in search of musical opportunity.

“You can’t really be a working musician in Brandon,” Gatin explained. “There aren’t enough shows and very few venues. Winnipeg is thriving musically and artistically, so it was an easy decision.”

Since her arrival, Gatin has worked a wide range of jobs, including waitressing, teaching vocal lessons and acting in a friend’s play.

Playing piano since she was four and singing since she learned to talk, Gatin lists Fiona Apple and Joni Mitchell as some of her influences. However, Gatin’s interest in the accordion was piqued recently when she started listening to a gypsy Balkan style of music and picked up a used accordion in a shop a year ago.

“ You can’t really be a working musician in Brandon. There aren’t enough shows and very few venues.

Ingrid Gatin, musician

“I’m absolutely in love with it – the rhythms, the sound,” Gatin said. “It’s really such an emotive instrument. It has this swell to it and how you can work with it. It really moves the emotions.”

Shortly after she arrived in the city in 2006, Gatin found a gig with the Magnificent Sevens, an old-time bluegrass group, lending her vocals and playing the mandolin. The group wrapped up a tour of western Canada this past fall. Afterwards, Gatin applied for a grant from the Winnipeg Arts Council in an effort to kick-start her pursuit of a solo career.

“I was thinking about the things I really wanted to do with an opportunity to have a career in music,” Gatin said. “I know that I want my music to be a little more than just a singer-songwriter.”

The grant was not easy to get. Gatin had to submit a detailed proposal, which she called “Old World Meets New World: The Songwriting Exploration.”

“The ‘old world’ part is the accordion, exploring my French roots by listening to French accordion music combined with my love for the gypsy Balkan style,” Gatin said. “The ‘new world’ part is that I’ve been interested in working with a looping pedal. I can create pieces where I am singing a line and I can loop a harmony line over top again and again. It’s a situation where I’m creating an ambient landscape of vocals.”

Gatin will be creating her vocal landscapes on the shores of Christopher Lake, Saskatchewan, a location she chose because of its proximity to family and what she calls “one of the most beautiful places on Earth.”

“It’s this small crystal clear lake surrounded by a forest,” Gatin said. “It’s snow-filled and calm. The area is filled with music.”

See Ingrid Gatin Saturday, Jan. 31 at The Edge Gallery (611 Main St.). Doors open at 7:30 p.m.  Visit www.ingridgatin.com

Published in Volume 63, Number 18 of The Uniter (January 29, 2009)