Mark Berube sets his music free
Photo by Frederique Berube
Though he’s been called a “young Leonard Cohen” for his lyrical skill, Mark Berube‘s true calling goes beyond words.
He’s a multi-instrumentalist, a curator of many-layered compositions and a master of marrying pop, Afro-beats and strings. He comes by the ability to craft sonic blends honestly — he was born in Manitoba, raised in Swaziland; his roots are braided.
Cohen is a fair comparison, but so are Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Beirut and Andrew Bird.
Berube has just released his third full-length album, June in Siberia, a work that focuses more closely on his soaring vocals and fully incorporating the band’s instrumentation.
This week, Mark Berube is the face on the front of Hour Community, an English-language weekly in Montreal, where Berube and his band, the Patriotic Few, are based. To celebrate, Berube has announced an act of generosity — he’s giving away digital copies of his previous albums for free.
Since 2007’s What the river gave the boat maintains its status in the regular rotation around Roots Music Canada headquarters, we’ll second that notion. Visit Mark Berube’s website to download the free albums, then pay what you can for the latest, June in Siberia.
