With significant help from family and friends, Cindy Koppen has recorded and produced a seven-song digital album that embraces a variety of musical styles and influences.
The album is called Winterspell, by Indigo Lee, which is Koppen’s stage name. Koppen is the lead singer on the album.
The album was her personal work, but she was coached by collaborator John Burton, guitarist for Doug and the Slugs.
“He is my friend and coach,” said Koppen. “His son, Mitch Burton, did the recording and he also plays drums, so he did that for our recording. Mitch is like family to us.
“Our daughter, Autumn Skye Morrison, sang the backup harmonies. My brother Dan Warren and his daughter Lucy, in Ontario, recorded the tracks for the trumpet and the violin and sent them to Mitch through the internet, which is crazy. Mitch embedded them into the tracks.”
Morrison also did the artwork for the album.
On Winterspell, Koppen wrote all the music and all the lyrics. She said John helped her with some of the structure.
“He kept encouraging me and would say, ‘no, try again, try this chord or that chord.’”
Koppen said she appreciated the help and guidance.
In terms of drawing the team together for the album, Koppen said her family, past and present, is very musical. She had a great aunt who sang in the Metropolitan Opera. Her mother was a professional soloist. Her dad was a multi-instrumentalist and could play any instrument, including the bagpipes.
Her deceased brother Steve played drums and her brother Dan, who was featured on the album, is a professional trumpet player and conductor for the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Lucy, his daughter, now plays violin professionally. Koppen’s daughter, also, is a talented vocalist.
“The whole thing was kind of like a family affair,” said Koppen.
The recording, which took place at the head of Okeover Arm, was a great deal of fun for Koppen and the musicians. In addition to singing, on Winterspell, Koppen played piano. She said she went from playing guitar a few years ago but slid into playing the piano.
“That’s what I’m about,” she added.
In terms of characterizing the music on Winterspell, Koppen said it is difficult to pigeonhole.
“I’ll tell you what I think,” said Koppen. “I would call it a combination of light jazz, indie, folk and pop.
“Some of my biggest influences growing up were Crosby, Stills and Nash, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon.”
The album was released last year in digital form. It has been released on a number of streaming platforms.
“We’d have loved to put it out in hard copy, but people just aren’t buying hard copies anymore,” said Koppen. “People plug their iPhone into their car and drive away. They don’t even think about CDs anymore. Also, the budget was already kind of shot on the production, so we decided to stop there.”
The primary digital location for the album is on bandcamp.com, and the album is on a bunch of other platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music, but Bandcamp is where Koppen first put Winterspell. She said Bandcamp gives the musician the most bang for the buck in terms of financial recompense.
“It’s a weird business now; the musician has a really tough time,” said Koppen. “There are very few ways to make money unless you tour, have merchandise, and all of that stuff. Now, with COVID-19, it has been really tricky. I’ll never make back what I put into the album but that’s okay. I did it just because I knew I had to; it’s just the love of it.”
As well as recording, Koppen has enjoyed playing music live. Every summer, she used to play at Laughing Oyster Restaurant.
“I was on the roster, I played a lot of my own stuff, and I would play a bunch of covers,” said Koppen. “Every once in a while, I’d grab a couple of friends and we’d do a trio.”
Koppen is still writing music. She said she currently has six songs she is working on that are all piano.
“I’m having a blast,” said Koppen. “I’m retired, so why not?”
To find the album on Bandcamp, go to indigolee.bandcamp.com/releases.
