Basset is a contemporary folk group made up of Yasmine Shelton, Sam Clark, and brothers Aaron and Noah Philipp-Muller. The band met as students at the University of Toronto, and developed their sound in its vibrant community of student artists before moving on to perform across the city and beyond. In addition to many performances at the university, they have played shows at the Painted Lady, Hart House, and Lee’s Palace, and perform frequently through the Toronto chapter of Artery, an organization of performers and hosts around the city.
On their latest single “In the Clay”, Toronto’s Basset comes damn near close to recreating that feeling of natural harmony in a short but vibrant Americana track. The tight harmonies are sung in a cadence that is as seemingly effortless as breathing over the mimicking, pedaling guitar. “In the Clay” is a commendable example of art imitating nature, and an exciting look into what the band’s upcoming debut EP will bring.
“This song evokes the feelings from Sam’s weeks-long canoe trips in the Canadian wilderness. The first few hours of paddling are always hard, and aches start to set in. It’s easy to wonder how you could possibly do this for days on end. But then the aches seem to settle, and your mind flows into the rhythm,” says the band.
“The song follows this rhythm – patiently chipping away at something day in and day out, and trying to make it a little better each time. The repetition takes on a powerfully meditative quality. This repetition can be exhausting and painful, but it can also take on a kind of flow, and when that happens it seems a little easier. It glides a little instead of needing to be pushed constantly. You could go on like that forever. Every now and then, we get to step back and take stock of what we’ve done. We get to heal, mourn, and celebrate. That’s the moment this song captures: “How far you’ve come these iron days.”
