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Mae Moore weaves new Folklore
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Mae Moore weaves new Folklore

For Mae Moore, songwriting is a lot like gardening.“It’s all one big meditation,” the Gulf-Islands based singer-songwriter says. “You kind of have to be right in the moment when you’re writing a song, and also when you’re working in the garden. You have to be right there and present.”It’s fortunate she has such a zen approach to both penning a song and tending a bed, as they are two things she’s been doing a lot of lately. Not only have her and husband Lester Quitzau been operating an organic apple orchard and farm the past few years, she’s also poised to release Folklore, her first solo album in a decade. Featuring Moore’s signature jazzy-folk-pop stylings, the album was prompted by a gift. “My husband Lester Quitzau gifted me some time at Joby Baker’s studio, so that was kind of what kicked it off,” she says, referring to the Victoria-based producer who has worked with the Cowboy Junkies and Alex Cuba. “Over the course of however many years it’s been, I’ve had time to distill a bunch of thoughts and different things … it kind of coincided with my rediscovery of my love of Canada.”And the Canadian landscape is not only represented sonically on this project, but visually as well; the album, released Feb. 22, also has a corresponding art book, which has pictures of 19 of her paintings, stories about the making of the album, guitar tunings — Moore plays with an alternate tuning — and a download code for the record.The reason I did that was there were people who know me just through my music and there’s also a small but growing contingency of people who know my art but weren’t aware I was a musician, so I wanted to bridge those two disciplines,” explains Moore. And Moore will have plenty more opportunity to take in the Canadian landscape when she launches her album tour, as she’s opted to do the recent Canadian leg by train.“It’s my slow-music tour,” she says with a laugh. “I did that mostly from an environmental standpoint in that it seemed to be less impactful to go on a train than support the airline industry.”But Moore isn’t sure she’ll be able to stick to her plane-free promise. “I’m not sure how long I can keep that up if I really want to give this album the longevity I hope it can achieve,” she says.We’re sure Moore will find a way. M

Mae Moore7:30pm Thursday, March 3Belfry Theatre, 1291 GladstoneSOLD OUTmaemoore.com