Kat Kadoski never thought she’d cry any more tears than the day she found out the former love of her life tragically died from a sudden heart attack in 2018, but two years later, those feelings came flooding back at Billings Spit in Sooke.
The Sooke woman remembers being a “big sobbing mess” while looking out into the ocean, wearing a green coat that belonged to her former partner and surfer Neil Weizel.
“I cried so much into that coat to the point where I couldn’t smell him anymore,” said Kadoski. “Grief is an unexpected visitor, and it feels so gross. I needed something to put back into a place that he left empty.”
That’s how After the Shipwreck was born.
The singer-songwriter’s album was released on Dec. 17 with 10 songs written in honour of Weizel. One of the songs, Moonbeams, recreates when Kadoski would wait on the shore looking for Weizel to finish surfing.
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Kadoski said most of the songs she wrote about Weizel were never intended to be released, but her friends’ positive encouragement nudged her into a full-blown album. The cover of a condolence card inspires the album’s cover art that her close friend gave to her.
Kadoski worked with Jude Pelley, an award-winning producer from Nova Scotia. Pelley added guitars, mandolin, bass to the final mix, while Baltimore-based musicians Jen and Scott Smith contributed supporting vocals.
The album was initially intended for an April release, followed by a cross-country tour, but the pandemic turned her plans upside down. Now, she’s releasing it at the end of the year as a final goodbye.
This is Kadoski’s third album, after releasing 2016’s acoustic folk Dreamtime and her 1998 debut album Whirlpools. Her music is available online or through a physical copy.
Looking into 2021, she’s looking forward to releasing an EP titled Soulfire, which are additional songs that she’s written since this album. Also, she’s continuing to release music with her eclectic acoustic group, The Edgedwellers.
Kadoski plans to host a live stream concert that will feature music from her new album and performances with her The Edgedwellers bandmates. The live stream takes place at 7 p.m. on Dec. 17 at https://bit.ly/AftertheShipwreck.
“This album has been Buckley’s cough syrup for my soul,” said Kadoski. “The magic in all of this is the fact that you can take something horrible and turn it into something beautiful.”
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