Yukon-based singer-songwriter Kim Beggs is set to return on Sept. 20 with her seventh album, Beneath Your Skin, a collection of new material exploring familial history, survival, and the natural world. The first single, “Bury Me Inside Your Heart,” is out today on all digital platforms, and is another showcase for Kim’s distinctive approach to modern, folk-based Americana.
Having recorded with some of the most intriguing names in Canadian roots music production over the course of her career, Kim travelled to Montreal to record Beneath Your Skin with Howard Bilerman (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Leonard Cohen, The Weather Station) at Hotel2Tango studios. It was an overdue reunion for the pair after they’d worked together at the Banff Centre for the Arts recording studio during an inspiring singer songwriter residency.
Rather than polish each individual instrumental contribution, Kim and Howard aimed for a natural-sounding album, with the instrumental foundation largely a reflection of three women: Kim on acoustic guitars and stomp board, Lilah Larson on electric guitar, bass and drums, and Charlotte Cornfield on electric guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. Along with Mike O’Brien on electric guitar, the ensemble crafted atmospheric pathways to support Kim’s lyrical journey. All the contributing musicians are songwriters themselves, which fostered an atmosphere that served the needs of Kim’s songs, much as they would want musicians to support their own efforts.
Born in Quebec and raised mostly in Ontario, Kim found herself in the Yukon more than 30 years ago. After earning a red seal journeyman carpenter certificate, she started writing songs and performing, discovering elements of her personality that only emerged once she embraced living in the far north. She celebrates two decades as a recording artist in 2024, a span of time during which she has come to be regarded as an artist possessing the rare ability to weave informed observations into compelling songs replete in imagery and figurative allusions. Through exploring her world—the people, emotions and events, Kim has earned nearly a dozen Canadian Folk Music and Western Canadian Music Awards nominations.
Beneath Your Skin serves to relaunch Kim Beggs as she refreshes her singular sound. Songs of light and shadows remain her signature trait, and on Beneath Your Skin Beggs embraces the darkness of our world, while ensuring hope illuminates each song.
Find out more at kimbeggs.com, and enjoy this live version of “Bury Me Inside Your Heart.”
