Tori Sutton
Staff Reporter
Despite describing himself as “micro-nano successful,” Stewart Reynolds – the mastermind behind Stratford-based band Brittlestar – has some high profile help on his latest release, Stop Trying.
The five-song mini-album features Claire Worrall, keyboard player and vocalist for UK-superstar Robbie Williams. It also features Gordon Deppe from The Spoons – one of Reynolds’ favourite bands of the 1980s.
“He’s a phenomenally cool guy and obviously a Canadian pop icon,” Reynolds said.
So how does one convince an idol from his youth to contribute to his newest release? By using the Internet – one of the most essential tools Reynolds utilizes to market and distribute his music.
He first contacted Deppe online two years ago and sent him a song off the Brittlestar release Arcane Anthems. The song – which had a definite Spoons influence – was well-received by Deppe, who responded almost immediately.
Earlier this summer, Reynolds went out on a limb and contacted him again, this time sharing a new track.
“He totally loved the song and I ended up working back and forth with him,” Reynolds said, adding he is now in talks to write some tracks for an upcoming Spoons album.
“It’s kinda cool,” he said, with a wide grin.
In addition to the talented musicians who contributed to Stop Trying, photographs for the album were shot by UK-based photographer Retts Wood, who has worked for popular bands and well-respected publications, including British Vogue. Reynolds travelled to London for the photoshoot, which saw him spend plenty of time wandering around Hyde Park in a tuxedo.
“She’s really cool and has done tons and tons of stuff,” Reynolds said, of the photographer.
The album has been licenced in California by the same company that picked up Brittlestar’s past releases – which led to songs being featured on hit TV shows, such as the Real World. One song, Everything Changes, will be the theme song for this month’s DocFest film festival.
Another track, Priceless, is starting to get airplay on Clyde1 FM in Scotland, the biggest pop station in that country, second only to BBC Radio 1 in the UK.
Songs are also in rotation on Jango.com, a web-based radio service with over 7 million listeners.
The album is available for purchase through all major online retailers, including iTunes, Amazon and the Napster and Limewire stores. A limited-edition run of CDs were pressed and all are hand-signed and numbered.
Stop Trying is different from previous releases and he admits to being selfish while writing and recording, using Duran Duran, The Spoons and The Pet Shop Boys as influences.
“I indulged my own tastes quite a bit more,” he admitted. “I can churn out ballady, big chorus tunes but that’s not necessarily what I would listen to.”
One of the biggest challenges for Reynolds is navigating the current music landscape and finding out how to take his relatively small profile to the next level.
“The music business right now is weird, very, very weird … I don’t think anybody, even the big labels, know how to properly navigate through social media. They’re just throwing things out there.”
For more information, visit www.brittlestar. com.
