Every Song I’ve Ever Written
2012
Jacob Wren interviewing Momus in the Every Song I’ve Ever Written Band Night at Sound Live Tokyo in Japan (2016). Photo: Hideto Maezawa
Jacob Wren in the hotel2tango studio. Photo: Radwan Ghazi Moumneh
Jacob Wren in the Every Song I’ve Ever Written Solo at the Power Plant in Toronto (2016). Photo: Brian Medina/Harbourfront Centre
Kanerva, Tiiu Helinä, Janne Masalin, and Samuli Putro onstage together for the last song as part of the Every Song I’ve Ever Written Band Night at Baltic Circle in Helsinki (2013). Photo: Tani Simberg
Jacob Wren in the Every Song I’ve Ever Written Karaoke at the Musée d’art contemporain Nocturne as part of at La Biennale de Montréal (2016). Photo: Sébastien Roy
Jacob Wren and Sylvie Cotton in the Every Song I’ve Ever Written Karaoke at the Musée d’art contemporain Nocturne as part of at La Biennale de Montréal (2016). Photo: Sébastien Roy
Sheenah Ko, Robbie MacArthur, J. Ellise Barbara, Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas onstage altogether for the last song as part of the Every Song I’ve Ever Written Band Night at La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines in Montreal (2016). Photo: Mathieu Chartrand
From 1985 to 2004, PME-ART Co-artistic Director Jacob Wren wrote songs. Lots and lots of songs. At the time, not very many people heard them, and therefore, in some sense, these songs don’t yet exist. Arranged in chronological order, they form an unintentional portrait of Jacob’s youth, at the same time chronicling one view of recent history. Taken as a whole, it raises questions about what songs mean on the internet, about what songwriting is actually like today, also providing a sidelong glance back at the recent past. A project with four components: a website, a karaoke night, a solo performance and a band night with local musicians.
Every Song I’ve Ever Written is a project about memory, history, things that may or may not exist, songwriting, the internet and pop culture.
First, there is a website www.everysongIveeverwritten.com in which you can download all the songs for free and also record your own version, send it to us, and we will put in on the site. You are invited to change the songs, and take extra freedom with both the lyrics and melody in order to make it your own. There are performances and events as well. A karaoke night allows anyone to sing the songs karaoke-style, with Jacob accompanying them on guitar. A solo performance features Jacob Wren performing all of his songs in chronological order (which takes about five hours). And finally, a band night featuring a series of local artists and bands in different cities, each performing one of Jacob’s songs. After each version, Jacob will interview the artist or the band about what it was like to cover the song, and they can also interview Jacob about what it was like to write it.
We are not doing this because we think these are the best songs ever (we hope at least a few of them are good). Instead, we hope to raise a few questions about what songwriting is actually like today – what it means to create and produce art – and in the process, bring this songwriting into different contexts and realities.
Concept, songwriting, and performances by Jacob Wren. Website Design: Uniform. Website programming: Bruno Cloutier. Website recordings: Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (hotel2tango). Website translation: Christophe Bernard and Sylvie Lachance. Technical Advisor: Mathieu Chartrand. Karaoke assistant: Adam Kinner (Montréal) and Satu Herrala (Helsinki). Artistic Consultants: Patricia Boushel (Montréal), Janne Masalin (Helsinki), Victoria Cheong (Toronto), and the artistic directors of the festivals and venues. With the participation of local bands: the Besnard Lakes, Mozart’s Sister, Ellise Barbara, Catherine Valéry, Elena Stoodley (Montréal), Kvit Skit, Johannes Fjeldstad (Hvitmalt gjerde), Craig Wells & Rudi Valdersnes, Elida Høgalmen, Second Pest (Bergen), Momus, Reiko Kudo, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, the Hardy Rocks (Tokyo), Above Top Secret, Maylee Todd, Phèdre, Regina of Light Fires, Snowblink (Toronto), the Octopus Project, Leticia Rodriguez, Ume, Foot Patrol, Francine Thirteen (Austin), Christine Owman, Mathias Kristersson, Sandra Mujinga & Linda Spjut, Octopus Ride (Malmö), Tiiu Helinä, Kanerva, Kap Kap, Samuli Putro, Tundramatiks (Helsinki), Ape Diem, the Alicka Problem, Betina, callahaan, Hans Reffert (Mannheim), Fragil, Kreidler, Niobe, and PDR/ex Punk’d Royal (Düsseldorf).
A coproduction with Forum Freies Theater (Düsseldorf), Wunder der Prärie Festival-Zeitraumexit (Mannheim), Baltic Circle International Theatre Festival (Helsinki), and Inkonst (Malmö); in collaboration with Usine C (Montréal). With the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, and the Kunststiftung NRW (Arts Foundation of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany).
Düsseldorf, Forum Freies Theater • Montréal, Usine C, Nuit Blanche, Phenomena Festival • Mannheim, Zeitraumexit/Wunder der Prärie Festival • Helsinki, Baltic Circle Festival • Malmö, Inkonst • Austin, Fusebox Festival • Toronto, Harbourfront Centre World Stage • Tokyo, Sound Live Tokyo • Montréal, La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines – La Biennale de Montréal/Musée d’art contemporain – Actoral Festival • Stavanger, Rimi/Imir • Bergen, BIT Teatergarasjen/Meteor Festival • Cardiff, Festival of Voice–Gŵyl y Llais/Chapter Arts Centre
The result is an intimate testimony that blurs lines between private and public that speaks of vulnerability, that gives voice to the human biography. But also sets the stage for a dialogue confronting intellectual property with a body of artistic work, accessibility vs. copyright.
– Bern Mand, Mannheimer Morgen, Mannheim
Jacob Wren is a generous soul. […] The conversations broach serious questions like the definition of a good song, or new listening habits emerging from internet use. But the vibe is playful, casual. […] Every Song I’ve Ever Written isn’t a catchall either. We follow a structure, somewhere between music performance and talk show, with a hint of family reunion. […] Both prepared and spontaneous, Jacob nevertheless takes risks. Between confessing great truths and expressing them with modesty. Like the project’s origin.
– Jérôme Delgado, Le Devoir, Montréal
The great quality of his lyrics brings us back to […] writing and literature. “My problem with writing songs is that I was more interested in the literary aspect than the musical one. This project sits at the heart of the contradictions between writing and songs.” […] He sings the songs today because “It’s like reading my diary on stage; some things are very good and others are embarrassing. It’s one of the tensions that I am very much drawn to. Being oneself in performance is not natural. It’s what interests me.” We understand that irony is at the heart of all of Jacob Wren’s undertakings. […] Yes Jacob, we love you.
– Mario Cloutier, La Presse, Montréal
The music ranged from rough and ethereal to heavy to funny and all points in between. It had big badass bass riffs, spoken word, head-banging drums, and a metric ton of funk. I would buy this album in a heartbeat. It was a great show.
– Aaron Sanders, fuseboxfestival.com, Austin (Texas)