A Yukon musician with Haines connections will release her fifth album at the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse this month.
Nicole Edwards’s CD titled “Genre Bender” will debut Sept. 23 and will be available for download on iTunes and other sites the same day. She said she has been working on this album a bit at a time for over three years.
“I am mostly very excited to finally share my songs, my ‘babies,’ with the world,” Edwards said. “However, there is always some feelings of vulnerability at the same time.”
Edwards said each song has a story, and this album in particular shows a variety of different music styles and messages. There is a mix of playful, light-hearted songs with others that have a deeper personal meaning, she said.
Edwards has missed performing in only one Southeast Alaska State Fair since 1999. She said one of her favorite parts of the fair is seeing the Haines puppet group, Geppetto’s Junkyard.
“They were definitely an inspiration for me,” Edwards said. “I love and admire the quality and diversity of their puppet building, characters and storytelling.”
Edwards chose the group to be a part of her 2015 music video for a song called “Lychee Martini.” Eight Haines-made puppets created by Debi Knight, Gene Kennedy, Joey Jacobson and Melina Shields were featured in the video and animated by Yukon puppeteers.
Edwards said she shot another music video this summer for a song on the new album called “Miracle” that featured Haines resident Klover Cinocco, daughter of Mark Allen and Knikki Cinocco, playing kazoo and dancing. Edwards said Cinocco was full of creative ideas and very comfortable in front of the camera. The music video will be released this month on Edwards’s YouTube channel: Nicole Edwards Music.
Edwards has lived in Mt. Lorne, Yukon since 1997. Her husband, Lee Close, lived in Haines for more than 12 years and worked with the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association. She said she considers Haines as her second community and still has friends here.