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A Rare Moment | James Murdoch, sitting still.

JAMES MURDOCH
Oct 16 (10pm). Starlite Room (10030-102 St). Tickets: entry with WCMA festival wristband, $10 at the door.

If anyone is happy that the Western Canadian Music Awards are in Edmonton this year, it’s James Murdoch.

“It’s really nice because I’ve been to the WCMAs several times and have always had to travel to get to them,” says the local musician. “With as much travelling as I’ve done over the last 12 months, I’m mighty happy to be able to just sit back and have the awards come to me for a change. I’ll be able to take in more of the festival because it’s here, too.”

The extensive travelling Murdoch — who is nominated for three awards at Sunday’s ceremony — speaks of has been in support of his fourth record, In Transit, which was released late last fall after an arduous recording process. Murdoch recorded the album and submitted it to his label (Indica) three times before everyone was satisfied with the finished product. After attempt No. 2, Murdoch enlisted the help of Canadian wünderkind Hawksley Workman, and eventually was able to turn in something he was proud of.

Murdoch feels validated by the warm response that the final incarnation In Transit has received over the last year — a confirmation that, in this case, the third time’s the charm. A nomination for Best Pop Album doesn’t hurt, either. “I’m really happy with how that project turned out in the end, after all the hard work we put into it,” he says. “The fact that it’s now getting some recognition, or any kind of nod at all, is of course totally thrilling.”

The video for Murdoch’s “Transportation” is also nominated for Video of the Year. “There were all kinds of different ideas being tossed around before we finally came to a unanimous decision,” he says. “We just weren’t happy with any of the ideas until we came up with the one we ended up using. Between director Clinton Carew and myself, we wanted to show some urban ideas, like the transit theme, which explains the shots filmed on the highway, on the street, and in the LRT station. Once we took a look at the final cut, we were all pleased with how it turned out.”

The final version of the video includes many Edmonton landmarks, a conscious choice on Murdoch and Carew’s part. “We could’ve make it look like it was set in a nameless city,” Murdoch says, “so maybe people would assume that it was Toronto or New York or something like that. But to me, that’s kind of clichéd and really not necessary anymore. I live in Edmonton; why wouldn’t my video be shot there?”

One of the primary themes running through In Transit is the restlessness that all musicians seem to feel, Murdoch included — sitting still is just not a concept that he understands. Last week, he returned from a trip to Nashville, where he immersed himself in the city’s music scene while writing material for his next album. Murdoch says the experience left a big impression on him.

“Nashville has a reputation for its music scene,” he says. “It’s almost like a rite of passage to go down there and spend some time writing, and trying to establish yourself a little bit on the scene. There’s lots of Canadians down there, but the locals are really supportive. That’s the thing about a place like that — there are music communities out there that tend to act like it’s a competition, so you can’t help really help each other out because you might be giving up one of your own spots. But in Nashville, it’s not like that at all. Everyone is extremely supportive and consequently everyone gets a lot more done, and better work gets done too.”