Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, singer/songwriter Carleton Stone is proud of his roots. Now based on the beautiful island of Cape Breton on the Atlantic coast of Canada, this talented artist is a force in the music industry. “I grew up in a musical family and was always obsessed with music when I was a kid.” The singer cites Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams and Bob Dylan as some of his earliest musical influences. “There were instruments around the house so I just started messing around and learning guitar chords from my parents. By the time I was fifteen I was writing my own songs and playing in bands in Cape Breton, and have basically been doing a version of that ever since.” In 2009, he released his debut album titled ‘Carleton Stone Drives The Big Wheel’ with a former band but then went solo and followed that up with his self-titled album in 2011 and ‘Draws Blood’ in 2014 which was co-produced by Jason Collett (Broken Social Scene) and Howie Beck. His songwriting efforts are heavily sought after and has written songs for Donovon Woods, Classified (ft. Snoop Dogg), Neon Dreams etc. In 2015, Carleton Stone joined forces with fellow Canadian artists Dylan Guthro and Breagh Isabel to form award winning band, Port Cities.
Although dedicated to the band, the three artists still enjoy a successful solo career. Carleton’s latest single “House In The Hills” was released on July 20th. When asked about the track he said, “‘House in the Hills’ was written in the first few days of 2020 and it started as just a list type song of the things that were happening on that day. I remember waking up and looking at my phone and seeing some news about a missile strike in Iran, directly followed by news that Post Malone got a new face tattoo. My co-writers Kyle Mischiek and Kayleigh O’Connor and myself just started chatting about the absurd amount of information we’re being subjected to all the time, trying to influence our behaviour, what we buy, etc. and wanted to write something that was addressing that but with a chorus that basically said “I don’t think we need any of this shit”. He says this song is different because, “This is the fourth song we’ve released from my new album “Papercut”. This one has a bit of a different sound than the others as it’s built around a programmed beat and not a drum kit. My incredible friend/songwriter/producer/genius Erin Costello sings on this one with me and also helped me when I was a bit stuck on the production.”
The singer is no stranger to lyric videos as he has teamed up with LyricVids for previous singles including “Papercut” and “Monte Carlo”. With such a fun but provoking premise for “House In The Hills”, there was no question that this song too needed a visual to really capture that content chug we all digest daily. When asked why he chose a lyric video he said, “So people can learn the words and sing along at shows.” To be fair, that is one of the main reasons to have a lyric video – for the fans! No more fan made videos promoting the wrong words, everybody will show up at the show singing your lyrics with confidence knowing that they were provided by the official artist – and in a fun way!
The video features a retro tv that is being turned on by the “viewer” and proceeds to flick through the channels in a way that it was if they were never fully satisfied with what they’re being shown. Endless channels of news, war and capitalism at its finest, the buffet of information media served to the public every day. The visuals are grainy and suit the old television set they’re being shown on. Each channel change showcases a subtle glitch effect which is cohesive with the retro themed aesthetic. The lyrics are shown in a simple closed-caption styled font across the bottom of the TV set, making it easy to read. We asked Carleton his favourite part of the lyric video and he said, “This sounds like a lame answer but I like the whole thing!! I thought the images pair really well with the randomness of the lyrics.”
What’s next for this Canadian music mogul? He says, “Heading out on the road very soon across the US and Western Canada supporting Crash Test Dummies! It will be the first proper tour in 2.5 years so I’m very excited to get back out there and start sharing these new songs with humans. And my new album “Papercut” comes out on September 9th!” You can follow Carleton across all music streaming and social media platforms @carletonstone or check out his website at www.carletonstone.com
Check out the lyric video for “House In The Hills” on Carleton Stone’s official YouTube channel here: