David Myles

Our most fundamental questions—about how to exist in this world we share, and how best to love the people we love—so often keep us awake at the end of the day, at a loss for answers. From the plaintive opening notes of David Myles’ It’s Only a Little Loneliness, the New Brunswick-based songwriter testifies that he’s no exception: “I could try to explain what goes on in my brain, but I’d have to pretend that I knew,” he sings on “Certain.” On his introspective 15th studio album, Myles establishes himself as a seeker—of paths, of new sonic expressions, of God. Concrete answers, however, elude him the same as they elude the rest of us. All of that seeking reveals one clear conclusion, though: we are bound to each other. “But it’s late at night, and I’m reaching for the light,” he continues over soft, arpeggiated guitar on the album’s opening track. “And I want to spend my whole life with you.”

“It's the kind of thing you say to yourself when you're feeling a bit down: ‘It’s only a little loneliness,’” Myles says about the album’s title on a drive through northern New Brunswick. “But then at the same time, you know—it's actually quite a big thing. It's overwhelming. You try to tell yourself it's not a big deal but it feels quite fundamental. And you realize, ‘I need people. I need a community. I need my friends. I need my family.”

That’s clear from songs like the sweet “If I Lost You,” simultaneously uplifting and heavy as Myles deals with the fact that everything must end, and what that means for relationships based in love. On the smoky “Mystery,” he addresses the enigmatic magnetism of opposites attracting, reminding listeners that those who are different from us broaden our perspectives and make our lives richer.

Sometimes it takes something massive, though—a rending of the fabric of one’s reality—to see our interdependence on one another clearly enough to inspire profound changes. In 2018, Myles came down with a sudden illness that had him worried that his life and ability to make music were in jeopardy; in 2020, the world changed overnight, upending his life and career along with everyone else. “My worst fear was to have the career drop,” Myles says. “And then, for reasons beyond my control, it dropped for me. And I didn't die. And it didn't all fall apart.”

It took a lot of soul-searching to get to this point, where he could look back on the past few years and understand what it had taught him. During this period his bandwidth for putting on any kind of airs was completely depleted, and he realized that with the time he has, he has to be 100% himself, which meant following those thoughts that kept him up at night, learning how to best express them, and confronting them through music. “All of a sudden, I could talk about God in my songs, and I could talk about the mystery of relationships and love and confusion and loneliness,” Myles says.

In 2021, the Juno Award winning album That Tall Distance offered an instrumental expression of Myles’ feelings about these questions. It’s Only a Little Loneliness brings his voice and words into the mix, using the same recording approach, with each contributing player afforded as much time as they need to lay down their parts at home and complete the picture. The result is a collection that flows naturally, a whole that proves more than the sum of its dynamic and singular parts.

For Myles, it was imperative that percussion form the beating heart of the record, and Joshua Van Tassel’s intricate work drives songs like “Walk With Me,” as Myles seeks to fill his spiritual void. The virtuosic Leith Fleming-Smith appears on organ and Wurlitzer, and Asa Brosius provides the dreamy title track dobro solo and gossamer pedal steel for the cover of country heartbreak standard “Making Believe.” Elsewhere, Dean Drouillard provides the crucial low end on bass; Andrew Jackson blows trombone; and Aaron Davis provides the glowing piano work on curtain-closer “Solitaire.”

All over the album, the voices of dear friends—Rose Cousins (“Making Believe”), Breagh Isabel (“If I Lost You”), and Reeny and Haliey Smith (“Mystery,” “Walk With Me,” and the slinky and soulful “You Can’t Hurt Me”)—drive home that important sentiment: we need each other to get through, even if it’s just a little loneliness.

Over these past years of isolation, Myles has continued to seek connection via his “not-so-late night talk show” Myles From Home on YouTube, which has since become a popular podcast by the same name. Myles From Home has featured a diverse selection of guests including Jeremy Dutcher, Shad, Alex Cuba, Bahamas, and Ria Mae. The podcast is just another feather in the multifaceted cap of Myles’ career, which includes numerous awards and accolades, a robust artist profile stateside, a 2018 children’s book called Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo, and the biggest-selling rap single in the history of Canadian music, “Inner Ninja,” a cross-genre musical collaboration with rapper Classified.

Bio Old:
Halifax based, David Myles is an award winning singer-songwriter, multi instrumentalist and dynamic performer with powerful, smooth and commanding vocals. David’s engaging delivery and his unique combination of guitar and trumpet are complimented by his solid songwriting ability to deliver catchy hook laden original songs that are infectiously hummable.

Setting out to make his fourth album, Turn Time Off, David Myles knew he was ready to try something a little different. His earlier releases, Things Have Changed (2006) and On The Line (2008) had already established his reputation as a versatile, genre-bending artist with a knack for effortlessly straddling jazz, blues, folk and pop styles. Produced by acclaimed Nova Scotia musician Joel Plaskett, Turn Time Off is a smooth, soul-infused pop record that pays tribute to crooners and lovers alike.

Whether he’s singing about taking a break from love (“Out of Love”), refusing to succumb to change (“People Don’t Change”) or the simple joys of loving (“I Will Love You”), Myles does it all without straying into sentimentality. His smart, heartfelt lyrics address the human condition — everything from worry, hope and joy, to making time to spend with the people you love. Turn Time Off solidifies Myles’s reputation as a gifted, spirited songwriter with wide appeal.

A warm, easy performer, Myles brings his audiences to their feet wherever he plays. His unabashed joy at being on stage is infectious, and his enthusiasm, along with a tendency to regale his audiences with humourous anecdotes, has made him a favourite wherever he plays. Whether it’s the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill, or the 2010 Winter Olympics, Myles is increasingly in-demand on the Canadian live music scene.

Turn Time Off was recorded in Plaskett’s Dartmouth, Nova Scotia studio, Scotland Yard. Myles worked closely with his backing musicians on the album, drawing out clean harmonies and solid arrangements, and letting their own backgrounds in R&B and bluegrass infuse the tunes. It was a process that started in the summer of 2009, while Myles and the band were on a European tour opening for U.K singer Jools Holland. Granted a few days off, the group rented a houseboat in Amsterdam and spent some time on-board, their gear set-up on the boat’s bow. It was there that Turn Time Off really started to take its shape.

Once Myles had the songs written, he and Plaskett then worked collaboratively to build a strong record with catchy hooks and memorable melodies. Turn Time Offwas recorded on a 16 track, 2 inch tape machine, giving it a rich, analog sound with some of the spontaneity and joy of a live performance.

A gifted and spirited songwriter, Myles was a winner in the 2008 International Songwriting Competition where he was judged by the likes of Tom Waits and Brian Wilson. He was also recently named to represent New Brunswick (his home province) in the Great Canadian Song Quest competition on CBC Radio. His last album, On the Line, won Folk Recording of the Year at the 2009 East Coast Music Awards, where he was also nominated as Male Artist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. Myles also won the Folk/Roots Recording of the Year for Music Nova Scotia in 2007.