It is a homecoming of sorts for an artist the Canadian music media like to declare as Ottawa’s.
While it is certainly true that Kalle Mattson currently lives and works in the country’s capital city, after three solo albums, a pair of EPs, and a couple of Juno and Polaris nominations, locals still see Mattson as their own.
It is no surprise that his history as an artist and songs are still closely tied to this community.
His most recent album with summersets, a duo that sees Mattson joined by Sault native Andrew Sowka, is called “small town story.”
“It’s a concept record about two characters and the story of their relationship, but the whole album is set in Sault Ste. Marie,” says Mattson, who notes there are many local references hidden away in the lyrics.
Despite the story being set in the Sault, Mattson says the album is ultimately a work of fiction.
“[It’s fiction] grounded somewhere real that I have a lot of memories of,” he says.
“Andrew and I are both from the Sault originally so we obviously have a lot of ties still there. We’re really looking forward to performing our debut record ‘small town story’ there.”
For Mattson, summersets has provided him a “real collaborator’ in Sowka.
“We co-wrote a handful of songs on this album, with him writing music and melodies and me writing the lyrics,” he says.
“It’s Andrew and I singing in harmony together and it’s this sort of snow globe of an album that we’ve made that feels very contained to these two characters the story we wanted to tell across these songs … We are the two main musicians on the album along with our producer Jim Bryson.”
Mattson says that summersets has allowed him to start fresh as a songwriter with a project that had “no baggage or history” attached to it.
“It allowed me to write …[in] a style that I have never attempted in my work before.”
The upcoming show at The Loft on September 8 will be the first time Sowka and Mattson’s summersets has headlined, as well as the first time they have performed these songs in their hometown.
The duo will be accompanied by a full band performing the ‘small town story’ album start to finish.
The last time Mattson performed in the community was with his solo band at the end of 2018.
“We were on tour promoting my last solo album ‘Youth.’ at the time.”
Fans of Kalle’s solo work will also get to hear songs from across Mattson’s albums at the September 8 gig.
The summersets set at The Loft will be followed by Mattson performing his solo material with a full band.
His band includes Sowka on bass, Vince Aquilina on drums and Martin Charbonneau on keys.
For Mattson, playing in the Sault reminds him of how much support he had when he first began playing music.
“The one thing I look back on is how appreciative I am that I was allowed to grow and develop musically in the way that I was in the Sault,” he says.
“I started writing songs when I was 18 and almost immediately was embraced by the local music community and was able to make records, collaborate, perform and open for a lot of really significant artists, really early in my career. Without all of those experiences, I can guarantee you I would not be where I am today. I owe a lot to Mark Gough, Frank Deresti, Arcadia and Steve Alexander at Loplops to name just a few.”
After this upcoming performance at The Loft, Mattson will be returning to Ottawa where he teaches at Carleton University.
In addition to his day gig teaching, Mattson says the “gears are turning” and he is working on ideas for a new brand new album.
Kalle Mattson and summersets
Live at The Loft at Algoma Conservatory of Music (75 Huron Street)
Friday, September 8, 2023
Show begins at 7:30 PM.
Tickets are available at the door or online.
Find out more about Kalle Mattson and summersets on their Facebook pages.