L.A. Beat

Edmonton musician Alex Vissia has taken her time to release her new EP “ You Should be Sleeping,” which is a taste of her upcoming full length CD “Place Holder.”

 But she has been doing anything but sleeping she has been busy writing songs, recording them, mixing them, earning an Alberta Arts Council grant to help fund publicity and playing a lot of shows, not to mention changing her band name to “Vissia,” and ensuring all of her social media reflects that.

“The last CD came out in 2013 so it has been four years, but this album has been ready to go for two years,” said Vissia, en route to Vancouver from Kelowna  in the middle of a Western Canada tour which stops in Lethbridge at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Oct. 7.

“These days it is important to take your time instead of just recording it and releasing it to the world,” she continued.
 She is pleased with the sound of the new EP as well as the upcoming CD.

“The Cd will have all three songs from the EP,” she said noting her touring band, drummer Nick Davies and bassist Kurtis Cockerill are on the CD along with several other guests including her sister Andrea and producer Emily Bachynski, who also sings on it.
 She is pleased with how the CD sounds.

“I’ve been working on it for years. Thee songs are about my life in the early to mid 20s, and now I’m close to  30. I’m writing a lot about about relationships and how they affect people,” she said, adding there is a lot of soul influence in the music.
“It’s a full band sound and it’s very guitar driven,” she said.

“ And it was mixed by Sam Kassirer who works with Josh Ritter and has worked with Del Barber. I’m a huge Josh Ritter fan, so I was pretty excited when he returned my e-mail,” she enthused, adding the response to the CD, which was released on Sept. 22 has been very positive. The full length CD won’t be released until October.

“But we’ll have CDs at the Lethbridge show,” she promised.
 After the quick Western Canadian tour, she will embark on an Eastern Canadian tour in November.

“But I’m taking VIA Rail, which is a great way to do it if you’re a musician. All you have to do is play three times a day and then meet a bunch of great people. Or else you can just go and have a nap,” she chuckled, adding having lots of friends and family along the way helps too.

She decided to go by Vissia instead of  her full name for to avoid having anybody coming in to her music with a preconceived notion of what to expect.
“When people hear Alex Vissia they they expect me to fill a specific role — like a folky singer songwriter. With Vissia, you don’t know what to expect,” she said.
“ It’s like Wilco, you never know what to expect until you hear it,” she continued.
“ It’s been good so far.
 Alex Vissia plays the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. Admission is by donation.