Mia’s Soundcheck Sessions
In Mia’s Soundcheck Sessions, Jacob Brodovsky talks about his new album Tell The Kids We Tried, fatherhood, quiet songs and why sometimes simply carrying on is enough.
Words: Mia Lada-Klein
Photo: Matt Horseman
Canadian singer-songwriter Jacob Brodovsky will release his new album Tell The Kids We Tried on July 10. The former frontman of folk-rock band Kakagi once again opts for quiet tones rather than grand gestures. His songs explore small moments of everyday life, personal doubts and the search for hope in a world that does not always offer much reason for it. In this interview, Jacob Brodovsky talks about fatherhood, the power of slow songs and why sometimes simply carrying on is enough.
Jacob Brodovsky on the New Album, Fatherhood and the Art of Slowing Down
When listening to your new album, I had the feeling that it consciously stands in opposition to our fast-paced world. Was that a deliberate decision from the beginning, or is it simply your natural way of writing songs?
Jacob Brodovsky: I don’t think it was consciously intentional. But I understand what you mean. The older I get, the more I realize how important it is for me personally to slow down. I think the album simply came out of that need.
The album title Tell The Kids We Tried feels both hopeful and slightly resigned to me. What does that phrase mean to you personally?
Jacob Brodovsky: I think it’s actually both. I have two young children; they’re three and one. When I was writing the album, and especially the song the title comes from, I was thinking a lot about the ethical question of bringing children into this world. I don’t necessarily believe that the world is a good place, or that it necessarily needs more people. To me, the title means that I want my children to know that we’re trying to make the world a better place. At the same time, that effort can sometimes, or even all the time, feel a little hopeless. I have to come to terms with being a father and wanting to create positive change for my children, while also recognizing how little power I actually have to bring about that change.
Between Melancholy, Childhood Joy and the Art of Slowing Down
When you look at the world, it can sometimes be pretty sad. At the same time, you have two young children. I can imagine that this also gives you a desire to slow down and take a moment sometimes. One thing I find particularly interesting about your songs is that they tell stories without ever feeling preachy. Is that something you consciously try to achieve when writing?
Jacob Brodovsky: Absolutely. I definitely don’t want to be preachy. I don’t know if you use the term in Germany as well, but in Canada we often talk about “mansplaining,” meaning when someone explains something to another person in a condescending or patronizing way. That’s something I really want to avoid. I think humility is important in art. Many of my favorite songwriters are very humble people, and I always try to keep that in mind. After all, I’m asking people to engage with my thoughts and feelings. I don’t want them to feel like I’m forcing something on them or talking down to them. I also think that these days, nobody should be too convinced that their own thoughts and statements are necessarily right. At the same time, I still think they’re worth expressing.
One song that particularly stood out to me is “Restaurant.” When I listened to it, I immediately had very vivid images in my head. I really loved that you incorporated real everyday scenes and the sounds of a restaurant at the beginning of the song. Do you already have these scenes in mind when you’re writing, or do they develop later during the recording process?
Jacob Brodovsky: I love the idea of writing songs about little snapshots or individual scenes. “Restaurant” is about a restaurant down the street, very close to where I live. A lot of my friends work there, and I spend a lot of my time there. During the day, it’s a little café where you can get coffee, and in the evening it turns into a restaurant. I sit there with my laptop most days. I’m also good friends with the owners. I just like the idea of telling little stories from our neighborhood. For me, it’s a nice way of getting out of my own head and observing the world around me.
I really love that. When I listened to the song, I felt like I was mentally on vacation. It’s a beautiful feeling that sets in right from the beginning. At the same time, there seems to be a lot of pressure on artists these days to grab the audience’s attention as quickly as possible. Your songs do almost the opposite: They take their time. Have you ever felt pressure to write something more immediate or obviously catchy?
Jacob Brodovsky: I’ve never been particularly successful, so maybe I haven’t experienced that pressure in quite the same way. I write songs because I need to, not because I want to be famous. It’s simply what I do. If people listen to my music, like it and buy my records, that would obviously be great. I’m sure my label would be happy about that too. But ultimately, my artistic work is very self-centered. It’s mainly about processing my own thoughts and feelings. I like songs that unfold slowly. Songs that you have to listen to several times before they really reach you. I like the idea that, as a listener, you’re rewarded for taking the time. And if that means I’ll never play stadiums, I’m okay with that.
Your song “Kids” combines something very personal, namely fatherhood, with an overwhelming subject like the climate crisis. Did you ever worry that this combination might make the song too heavy?
Jacob Brodovsky: Yes, I think it is a heavy song. When I wrote it, my children were still very young. My youngest hadn’t even been born yet, and my oldest was still a baby, so it was that phase before children start talking and developing their own personalities. I think I wrote the song from a pretty cynical perspective at the time. But as my children have gotten older and I’ve watched them more, I’ve come to realize that children can be an inexhaustible source of optimism, hope and joy. It’s incredibly beautiful to watch them discover the world. My own children are just so happy. They simply love being alive. They don’t know anything yet about all the terrible things happening in the world. Since I’ve seen that in my own children, the song has become a little more optimistic to me. I feel like we are actually trying to change things, and that our children motivate us to do so. Maybe that’s what’s important. But yes, I write heavy songs. That’s just my way.
I know what you mean. My niece is four years old, and every time I’m with her, she’s happy. It’s often the smallest things that make her so happy.
Jacob Brodovsky: Yeah, absolutely! We played at a music festival over the weekend. My two bandmates, who are very good friends of mine, held my oldest son by the hands and swung him around. He was screaming with joy. It’s really a gift to be reminded that people are capable of feelings like that. I think my job as a father is to preserve that innocent joy for as long as possible.
When listening to your album, I had a lot of images in my head. At the same time, I felt that your songs are more interested in asking questions than in providing answers. That’s obviously just my personal perception. Is that something you consciously strive for as a songwriter—to encourage people to think rather than telling them what to think?
Jacob Brodovsky: I definitely don’t think it’s my job to tell other people what to think. That’s something I consciously try to stay away from. For me, writing is mainly about reflecting on myself and asking myself difficult questions. That comes through in my songs as well. When I think about songs like “Older Too” or “Lack Thereof,” I wrote those pieces when I was dealing with some pretty difficult mental health challenges. At the time, I was thinking a lot about how I wanted to take care of myself and find my place in the world. I think it’s worthwhile to ask yourself those kinds of questions. And I think art is a good way of doing that. Through art, you can also show other people that it’s okay to ask themselves these questions, not have the answers or feel uncertain. For me, that’s a really important part of making music.
Jacob Brodovsky on Perseverance, Canadian Folk Music and the Joy of Life
“Winter” is my favorite song on your album because the lyrics really touched me. It’s about how difficult it can be to simply get through the winter. Later, you say that sometimes it’s enough just to keep going. That really resonated with me, especially because we live in a society that constantly tells us that we need to do more, achieve more and always become better. Do you think that sometimes it really is enough just to get through things and keep going?
Jacob Brodovsky: Yes, I do. At least, that’s something I try to remind myself of over and over again. It’s interesting how that song came about. I wrote it on New Year’s Eve. Do you know the artist Courtney Marie Andrews? She’s an incredible singer-songwriter and one of my favorite musicians. At the time, she had posted one of those year-in-review posts on Instagram and wrote something about how some years or winters are simply there to be endured. That really resonated with me. I live in Winnipeg, where the winters are genuinely hard. It gets extremely cold, and the winters are long and dark. When you live here, there’s a kind of understanding that you just have to make it through the winter. That idea also resonated with me on a more personal level. Sometimes you just have to endure, and that’s completely okay. I’ve been through some difficult things myself over the past few years. It wasn’t about being particularly successful or constantly trying to improve myself. My main goal was simply to stay alive. And that’s completely okay. Sometimes you have to give yourself that kind of grace. Life is just really fucking hard sometimes.
Yes, sometimes it really is. Your song is a beautiful reminder that sometimes it’s enough simply to be alive, without constantly trying to optimize yourself. You also mentioned Canada and the winters there. When people think of Canadian folk music, they often associate it with vast landscapes, nature and a certain quiet melancholy. Is that more of a cliché to you, or is there actually some truth to it?
Jacob Brodovsky: I think there could definitely be some truth to it. When I think about folk music from Canada, particularly music from Winnipeg, where I’m from, what stands out to me most is a certain sense of humility. I think Canadians aren’t quite as proud or boastful as Americans, and I think that comes through in our music as well. Our music might be a little more humble or perhaps a little more self-deprecating. I can really identify with that. I like music that doesn’t take itself too seriously and can laugh at itself. As an artist, I never want to give the impression that I take myself too seriously. After all, I make a living singing songs. When you think about it, that’s actually a pretty absurd thing to do. So I think that humility and perhaps a certain degree of self-reflection that you find in Canadian folk music are things I can identify with and that I also recognize in my own music.
On What Remains After an Album
If there were one thing you’d want people to take away after listening to your album, what would it be?
Jacob Brodovsky: That’s a good question. I don’t really know. I just hope that people can take something away from my music. If they take the time to listen to my album and it makes them feel something, then that’s great. I don’t care if it makes them happy, angry or even annoyed and they think, “I hate this guy.” As long as my music touches them in some way, that’s wonderful. I think it also goes back to what we were talking about earlier: giving yourself permission not to be happy all the time. You don’t have to be proud of everything, and we don’t always have to live up to certain expectations. We don’t have to live up to these perfect, polished versions of ourselves that we present online. I think we could all give ourselves a little more space and a little more grace to simply be human, with all our flaws and weaknesses. But yeah, I don’t really know. I just hope people like the album and that it doesn’t make them too sad.
Thank you very much for the interview and for your time.
Find out more about Jacob Brodovsky on their social channels.
Discover more Soundcheck Sessions on my website.
Angelo Bissanti and the Language of Metal
Mia Lada-Klein is a journalist and editor specializing in music, culture, and media. In addition to writing analytical articles, she regularly interviews musicians and creatives, exploring topics such as identity, creative processes, and media perception.
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