NEW SONG RELEASE - CLOSE TO HOME

Close to Home

Marc Audet and Friends

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Close to Home

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Last June (2022), a friend in Deep River asked if I could write a song about the construction of a new long term care home, which is being funded by the Deep River and Area Hospital Foundation (DRDHF). A few months later, the "Close to Home" song was born. The song speaks to the virtues of small town living in a close-knit community and highlights

Last June (2022), a friend in Deep River asked if I could write a song about the construction of a new long term care home, which is being funded by the Deep River and Area Hospital Foundation (DRDHF). A few months later, the "Close to Home" song was born. The song speaks to the virtues of small town living in a close-knit community and highlights the benefits of expanded long term care services to the area. Musician friends Alastair MacDonald (piano), Karen Steven (fiddle), Chelsea Cheng (cello), and Anne Audet (harmony vocals) collaborated to develop song arrangements. Sound designer John MacLean then turned the recorded parts into a beautiful song. The song is available for FREE DOWNLOAD but people are encouraged to offer a donation to the Project through the DRDHF website www.drdhfoundation.com.

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Forgotten Memories of the Ottawa Valley (Folklore Folk Show)

Forgotten Memories of the Ottawa Valley is a unique folk music show that is a collection of songs about the history and heritage of the Ottawa Valley.  The collection of songs has been arranged to provide a musical tour of the Ottawa Valley, with introductory narratives (story telling) providing  informative insights to the days and the ways of the past. The songs reflect the early years of river travels, immigration, logging, farming, rural/frontier life, and the effects of later industrialization. These topics are relevant to areas beyond the Ottawa Valley because the early peoples everywhere in what became Canada would have experienced similar challenges with settlement, travel, and life. Effort has been put into researching the topics of the songs and the repertoire continues to grow as new stories are put to song. This “folklore” style of entertainment is an appealing for people with an interest in history and heritage. Every story is true.

The show is the creation of Ottawa Valley singer/songwriter Marc Audet. Marc’s writings of historic events and past ways of life were inspired by visiting and exploring the crumbling remains of logging camps, depot farms and wagon roads located throughout the Valley. For Marc, these ruins project inspiration and they would soon be lost to the forests, if it weren’t for Marc’s effort to put these stories to song.

Forgotten Memories of the Ottawa Valley (Folk Show)

Marc Audet Singer/Songwriter

Forgotten Memories is a unique folk show that takes you on a historical musical tour of the Ottawa Valley. The show is currently provided as a 2 set, 2 hour house concert live show, but during the lockdown periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, the show was made available to everyone after recording a series of live recordings and videos of the songs

Forgotten Memories is a unique folk show that takes you on a historical musical tour of the Ottawa Valley. The show is currently provided as a 2 set, 2 hour house concert live show, but during the lockdown periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, the show was made available to everyone after recording a series of live recordings and videos of the songs of the show. These recordings/videos were provided to retirement homes, care facilities and other congregate settings so that the people experiencing COVID isolation could experience a safe form of entertainment.

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2019 Debut Album, THE RIVER

Songs from 'The River' (2019 Release)

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Purchase a Copy of the CD 'The River'

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For many, rivers are a perpetual life force. They have shaped the landscape over the millennia, they sustain a wealth of biodiversity, and they have greatly influenced our cultural heritage. They provide a means of travel, a source of prosperity, a renewal of spirit and they call to me as a metaphor for the trials of life. The River is a

For many, rivers are a perpetual life force. They have shaped the landscape over the millennia, they sustain a wealth of biodiversity, and they have greatly influenced our cultural heritage. They provide a means of travel, a source of prosperity, a renewal of spirit and they call to me as a metaphor for the trials of life. The River is a compilation of songs about life experiences and stories of life and times in the Ottawa Valley. The debut album was released on 22 February 2019.

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If you would like to purchase a physical copy of the album in CD format, but you are uncomfortable with making the purchase with PayPal, please contact me by e-mail or phone/text and we'll work this out using other methods.

Digital Remixes of Songs from The River

Another Chance REMIX

Marc Audet

Another Chance is a folksy love song about making decisions in life and if you were to somehow go back in time would you make the same decisions regarding what to study at school, what type of job to take to put food on the table, where to live and most importantly who to spend the rest of your life with.

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Stone Fences REMIX

Marc Audet

The old stones fences throughout the Ottawa Valley inspire me, and there's nothing quite like the fences on the old farms along the Opeongo Colonization Road that runs from Farrell’s Landing on the Ottawa River near Renfrew to Opeongo Lake west of Barry's Bay. What I see in these fences is the decades of determination and hard work that European

The old stones fences throughout the Ottawa Valley inspire me, and there's nothing quite like the fences on the old farms along the Opeongo Colonization Road that runs from Farrell’s Landing on the Ottawa River near Renfrew to Opeongo Lake west of Barry's Bay. What I see in these fences is the decades of determination and hard work that European settlers had to endure in the late 1800s to turn forested stony hills into marginal farmland. With many farms long since abandoned, forests now occupy the fields, with moss-covered stone fences permanently marking this period of development of the Ottawa Valley.

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la Riviere REMIX

Marc Audet

The Ottawa River, extending 1270 km and with its watershed larger than twice the size of New Brunswick, was one of several major routes for indigenous people to travel throughout the Canadian wilderness for decades. Starting in the 1600s, European explorers and fur traders used the routes of indigenous people, accessing broad areas of the country

The Ottawa River, extending 1270 km and with its watershed larger than twice the size of New Brunswick, was one of several major routes for indigenous people to travel throughout the Canadian wilderness for decades. Starting in the 1600s, European explorers and fur traders used the routes of indigenous people, accessing broad areas of the country further west and north. In the 1800's the lumber trade prospered from using the river for floating logs to European markets. This song pays tribute to travelers of the river; the Coureur des Bois, Voyageurs and indigenous peoples. Wording in the chorus “the tracks of these men are marked in the stones …”, refers to a sacred place on the Madawaska River, where the names of men who perished in the river are carved into the smoothly shaped bedrock. As an avid wilderness canoeist (and a 10th generation Canadian), I have a great deal of respect for our forefathers that traveled through the rugged Canadian Shield from spring to early winter.

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Songs of "The Forest" (2022 Album in the works)

I love conveying, through music, unique stories about people or places or things.  In some cases, documenting these stories through song preserves what would otherwise be a lost or forgotten record.  Here are some of the songs that are in development. The plan is to record these and other songs in a new album in 2022. Live, acoustic recordings of these songs are available below. Check them out! 

The Ballad of Rose McKenna - this song is about a tragic accident at a homestead in the Ottawa Valley where Rose McKenna, a mother of 4, was crushed by a stone. A large stone was in the process of being moved out of the way by digging a large hole next to it and rolling it into the hole. For some unknown reason Rose went into the hole and the stone rolled onto her , killing her instantly [Pembroke Observer, 1921]. She had sent 3 of her children to school, and her husband, Willian McKenna, was off to work on the CPR rail line.  Because there was no witness, speculation leads to 3 different stories. All 3 stories agree that she died in the hole and she remained there for hours until someone stopped by and found her dead, with her young son Martin sitting next to her.  In researching the story, I learned that this type of accident was not uncommon.

Newfoundout - the story of hope of immigrants from Ireland that settled in the Ottawa Valley in the mid-1800s. These folks came to Canada to escape poverty, starvation (potato famine) and oppression. As arduous as it would have been to turn the forested, stony hills of the Opeongo Range into farmland, it was far easier to survive (and thrive) with this settlement challenge than to remain in Ireland.  To this day, there are many reminders throughout the Ottawa Valley of the influx of the Irish at this time, from the names of settlements to celebrations of Irish heritage.  This song was inspired by exploring a mysterious ghost settlement in Ontario called Newfoundout

North Star - the story of a German pilot from WWII who escaped from a POW (prisoner of war) camp in the remote interior of Algonquin Park (Nipissing River). What is remarkable about this individual is he traveled north from the POW camp using only the north star to guide him. He traveled only at night and hid during the daylight hours. After 3 days (nights) he reached the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) line, where he hopped on a slow-moving train.  His train ride took him westward to Winnipeg Manitoba, where he was recaptured and put in another POW camp. His night travels in a rugged wilderness region were terrifying. This journey happened in May (late spring), when lakes and streams would have been icy-cold, and biting insects would have been emerging, if not constantly feeding on the prisoner. The song is about the north star journey and, most importantly, the feeling of hope when he first heard the distant rumble of the train.  

Half Way There - the story of an old abandoned "depot farm" called Halfway House that supported the bustling logging industry in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Xavier Pilon was the name of the farmer who cleared the land in a remote wilderness area half way between two major hubs in the travels of seasonal workers.  Thousands of men would migrate into the bush to cut giant white pines, staying at lumber camps located throughout the vast forests. The depot farm provided food to lumber camps as well as lodging for the men who traveled by horse-drawn sleigh to the lumber camps. Ruins of old buildings are all that remain today, and there are few records of the Pilon farm.  I have yet to meet with descendants of Xavier Pilon to collect more details of the man and the farm.  This song was inspired by visiting the farm, and enjoying the taste of the rhubarb picked from a patch still growing at the farm. 

Trunk of Secrets - the story of an antique chest that I bought in Westmeath that used to belong to the famous Everest mountaineer A.C. Irvine who died in his summit attempt in 1924 (how the heck did the chest get from England to Westmeath?).

The Mayflower - the story of the 1912 marine tragedy of the sinking of the Mayflower in Lake Kamineskeg, between Combermere and Barry's Bay. The sinking occurred during the last run of the year as a November gale beared down on the region. Nine people perished, but 3 survived by clinging to a coffin that was being transported to Combermere. 

From You - an upbeat love song that rides a vibe reflective of it's beginning during a stay in Costa Rica with a nice travel guitar.

Forward  - an introspective song about being in a passive headspace where time passes without notice during a long portage... an inner peace, of sorts. 

It Must Be True - a funky upbeat song about an old guy that tells tall tales. This is a biographical piece written for my kids, who have endured many stories of past fictitious conquests, for fun.

Talk to Me - at many historic sites, all that remains are crumbling ruins with giant pine trees overlooking. The people that settled or lived at these sites are long since passed away, yet those trees remain. This introspective song reflects on this … if only these trees could talk, and reveal all that happened before them.

The Forest - Upcoming Album (2022)

Marc Audet

The Forest is a second collection of songs written by Marc Audet. Like the 2019 album, The River, this new album includes songs about life and living, and songs about the history and heritage of the Ottawa Valley. These songs will be brought into a recording studio in 2022, with a target release dat of 01 December 2022.

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Links

Visit my other sites for more songs, videos and information on my folk music act.