Northern Exposure (CMF Edition): Aidan Knight, 'Jasper' -- Free MP3

Canadian Music Week / Canadian Music Fest features 700 showcasing bands at over 45 live music venues during five nights of performances in Toronto. Our exclusive Northern Exposure column highlights some great tracks by homegrown artists playing Canadian Music Week's CMF.

It ain't easy being the consummate sideman, those musicians who are regularly called upon to lend their talents onstage or in the studio. After all, they're clearly talented players in their own right, but their job is to make others sound good.

Victoria, B.C.'s Aidan Knight was one such artist, until he decided he was going to do whatever it took to make his own music. So he began writing songs of his own, recording in intensive bursts whenever he was able to raise enough money, even sleeping on the floor of the recording studio while immersing himself in the project.

Over the course of two years, Knight and producer Jonathan Anderson pieced together the songs on what would become Knight's debut album, the recently released 'Versicolour.'

Knight wrote, sang, and played nearly everything himself, calling in Toronto group the O'Darling to lend a hand on additional instruments and vocals. While 'Versicolour' veers all over the stylistic map, offering up hints of folk and chamber pop, the track that immediately stands out is the rootsy 'Jasper', which boasts an appealing country vibe that's akin to some of Matthew Barber's twangier work.

Written about a summer afternoon spent near the Athabasca River, the song is as warm and sunny as its inspiration, anchored by duelling banjo and lap steel. Knight's relaxed but charming vocal is complemented by the soaring group choruses. "Take me down to the water/Fill you up with the deepest of sorrows/Shone a light on my own," they sing, and it sounds at once like a ancient spiritual, but also a fresh take on something akin to a modern-day hymn.

The careful attention to every aspect of the arrangement, particularly the way the song flows, is indicative of the kind of craft it takes to be the kind of multi-faceted musician that makes for a good sideman. Except this time, it's good to see an artist like Knight using those talents to step into the spotlight himself.

CMF set: Aidan Knight plays a special CMF instore at Criminal Records alongside Dan Mangan and Hollerado on March 13 at 5PM

Download: Aidan Knight, 'Jasper' (MP3)