Kim Wempe stops in on her way to the ECMAs
February 18, 2010 12:56 PM
A former StFX student is making a big impact on the East Coast music scene. Wempe, a former vocal jazz student now based in Halifax, was recently featured on a Canadian Showcase network drama; is headed to Vancouver to play at the Olympic Games’ Atlantic House Stage; and is up for Female Solo Recording of the Year as well as the Rising Star Recording of the Year honours at the East Coast Music Awards.
“I hope I win the Rising Star award,” laughs Wempe. “[The other nominees for Female Solo Recording of the Year] are so intimidating. I’ve been listening to them since I got here.”
Wempe is a Nova Scotia import. Formerly of Saskatchewan, she arrived in Nova Scotia to pursue her musical education. The song for which she is nominated for both ECMAs, Where I Need to Be, chronicles her move out East.
Aside from the awards, Wempe has also been keeping busy with recording a new album.
“I’m excited to have two musicians I really look up to on the record,” said Wempe, “Joel Plaskett and Old Man Luedecke are both featured in songs.”
“As always, I’ll know the release date when I have it in my hands,” she explains regarding the uncertainty of the CD release process. “We’re hoping for sometime in May.”
Her song, Oh Heart, was recently featured on the Showcase series Crash & Burn. “I have no idea why this song belongs on a cop show,” acknowledges Wempe, “Apparently it’s playing right before some guy gets shot in the head, then it abruptly stops.”
Wempe, just returning from a tour in Ontario, is now heading out to Vancouver to perform at the Games, at the Atlantic House Stage. “I’m basically a glorified busker,” she explains modestly. There is little doubt, however, that it will be a nice change from some parts of her latest tour. “I was playing in this Mexican restaurant, in a tiny back room where I could hear the musicians in the front. I finished a song, and started the next a capella... and they turned on the espresso machine.”
