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Hayden | |
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 Hayden performing at theOttawa Bluesfest, July 2008. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Hayden Desser |
| Also known as | Hayden Desser |
| Born | (1971-02-12)February 12, 1971 (age 54) |
| Origin | Thornhill, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Indie folk,[1]alternative country,acoustic rock,folk rock,lo-fi |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter record label owner |
| Instrument(s) | vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica,mellotron |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Paul Hayden Desser (born February 12, 1971),[2] who records asHayden, is a Canadian singer-songwriter fromThornhill, Ontario.[3]
His early works are a largely eclectic mix of genres fromgrunge toalternative country, as demonstrated by his first full album,Everything I Long For, released in 1995. Since then his work has become progressively more refined.
Desser's father is Sherwin Desser, a retiredUniversity of Toronto professor ofparasitology and current visual artist. Desser received aB.A.A. in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (nowToronto Metropolitan University) in 1993.[4]
Hayden entered his song "Take" in forCFNY-FM's annualNew Music Search competition in 1993. Hayden played guitar on the track and enlisted two friends (Lorraine Ursomarzo andNoah Mintz ofhHead) to sing vocals. Hayden continued to recruit vocalists until 1995 when he began to showcase his grainy baritone. "Take" has never been officially released on any of Hayden's albums.
Hayden released an independent cassette,In September, in 1994,[4] and followed with the albumEverything I Long For in 1995.[4][5] Released on his ownHardwood Records with distribution bySonic Unyon, the album was a commercial success.[4] He subsequently found himself in abidding war between record labels in the United States, with one early offer coming directly fromNeil Young, whose manager Elliott Roberts had just launched Vapor Records.[4]
He ultimately signed toGeffen Records' subsidiary imprintOutpost Recordings, which gave him a contract worth over $1 million, along with complete creative control of his music, in what was widely reported as one of the most lucrative contracts ever given to a new artist in thealternative rock era.[6] Outpost rereleased the album in the US the following year.[7] Also in 1996, Hayden performed both nights of Neil Young's annualBridge School Concert, and contributed the title track to the soundtrack forSteve Buscemi's filmTrees Lounge.[8]
For his second album, 1998'sThe Closer I Get, Hayden worked with several big name record producers, includingSteve Fisk,John Hanlon andScott Litt.[9] He toured North America with a full band, including Josh Malinsky and Mitch Roth ofPoledo and Damon Richardson ofChange of Heart, to support that album.[9] However, Outpost was subsequently dissolved due to the commercial decline of alternative rock in the late 1990s, leaving Hayden without an international label.[4]
In 2001, Hayden distributed 100 hand-written, packaged and numbered copies ofSkyscraper National Park to friends and independent record shops throughout Toronto.[4] This was quickly followed by an additional 1,500 hand-numbered copies, this time with professionally printed liner notes. These copies were primarily sold at live shows. The critical success of these two limited-edition runs led to a full commercial release of the recording later that same year.[10][11]
In 2004, Hayden released his follow up album,Elk Lake Serenade, and toured North America with Oshawa'sCuff the Duke acting as his back-up band. He subsequently releasedIn Field & Town in 2008,[12] andThe Place Where We Lived in 2009.
In 2010, he produced the debut album of singer-songwriterLou Canon, his sister-in-law. It was his first time producing material for another artist.[8]
In November 2012, it was announced that Hayden would release his seventh studio album on Canadian indie labelArts & Crafts,[13] and would play five shows in Europe as a warm up to his performance atAll Tomorrow's Parties Festival, curated bythe National.[14] These were Hayden's first live performances since his two-song set at a benefit in Ontario over a year earlier.[14]
On February 5, 2013, Hayden released his seventh full-length studio albumUs Alone onArts & Crafts, his first release on a record label besides his own Hardwood Records.[15] The album is largely biographical in nature, with tracks like "Almost Everything" noting how family now takes precedence over art in his life, and "Instructions", which details what he wants done with his body when he dies.[16] In June 2013, the album was longlisted for the2013 Polaris Music Prize.
In February 2023 he released the single "Miss Fort Erie", his first new music since 2015.[17] He followed up at the end of the month with the announcement that his new albumAre We Good will be released April 5, 2023, on Arts & Crafts;[18] the announcement was accompanied by the release of the album's second preview track, a duet withFeist titled "On a Beach".[19] ActorSteve Buscemi and musicianMatt Berninger ofThe National appeared in the song's video.
Are We Good received a Juno Award nomination forAdult Alternative Album of the Year at theJuno Awards of 2024.[20]
Often described in the press as somewhat reclusive and private,[14] since the end of his international tour to supportThe Closer I Get Hayden has often limited his active promotional appearances and undertaken only small-scale touring.[21] As early as 2002, friends were jokingly referring to his concert dates to supportSkyscraper National Park as "the Hayden's Not Dead Tour",[14] and there was already at least oneUsenet group devoted primarily to tracking rumoured Hayden sightings.[10]
He also undertook virtually no promotional efforts for his 2009 albumThe Place Where We Lived.[22]
In 2010, an erroneous rumour that he had died was propagated in several online venues, including Wikipedia;[22]The Globe and Mail music critic Robert Everett-Green has speculated that the rumour may have been caused by confusion with Canadian R&B singerHaydain Neale, who died in November 2009.[14]
Upon the release of his follow-up albumUs Alone in 2013, he joked that "I think I realized that you need to let people know you have a record out,"[22] and acknowledged that the death rumour was a key influence on his decision to sign with Arts & Crafts, rather than continuing to handle his promotional efforts on his own.[22]
In recent years, Hayden has organized and performed at Dream Serenade, an annual charity concert in Toronto to benefit children with special needs.[23]
In Canada, almost all of Hayden's albums have been issued byHardwood Records, a small music label he owns. Hardwood's distribution was handled bySonic Unyon forEverything I Long For, and byUniversal Music Canada thereafter.[13] From its inception in 1994 until 2005, Hayden's own albums were all that the Hardwood label carried, but since then the label has also released albums byCuff the Duke,Basia Bulat andLou Canon.
His 2013 albumUs Alone was his first album to be released on Arts & Crafts.[13]
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