Releasing His First Album, 10 CDs Later

Enlarge this image

Singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman's new album, Meat, is his 11th. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

Singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman's new album, Meat, is his 11th.

Courtesy of the artist

In 1999, Hawksley Workman released his debut album, For Him and the Girls. It made him an instant star.

In Canada.

It's taken more than a decade for the album to be released in the United States. And as America is being introduced to that first record, Workman has just released his 11th back home in Canada, titled Meat.

In an interview with host Guy Raz, Workman says that he simply never bothered to tour enough in the U.S. to build a fan base. Time spent living in France didn't help, either.

But he's trying now. And in listening back to For Him and the Girls, Workman hears a much different musician than he is now.

"No, Guy, it's crazy," he says. "You can look at photographs of yourself as you age, and all these things that are sure indications of your growth and change. But there's something about listening to your music — it's more revealing. And somehow, it's a more intimate look at who I was."

Now that he produces records and works with a lot of younger artists, he's had occasion to reflect on making debut albums.

"The naivete that you have on your first record looks a lot like courage to the listener," Workman says.

He spoke to Raz about his first album, and about his new one, which he says was made after a breakup.

"It was about these painful things," says Workman. "And I'm not so sure that I've ever been this honest on a record. And I think that as I get older, I find it harder to edit myself and hold my tongue, if I'm talking about politics or music or wine, or anything. I really hear it on this record."