Wyatt C. Louis on ‘Chandler,’ Belonging, and the Beauty of Collaboration

“I want to feel good/want you to feel good too,” Wyatt C. Louis sings on Bobtail Road. It’s that outlook — sincere, connected, humble — that characterizes Chandler, Wyatt’s debut album, and Wyatt themself. Inadvertently, I leave our interview learning more about their collaborators than I do about Wyatt and Chandler. It could be the mentioned imposter syndrome coming into play, but talking about their friends is what makes Wyatt glow. And it reaffirms what their album is about: community.

“Someone said they recognize the humility and vulnerability on stage. It can be really fun to break all that down and just be on the same plane as the audience,” Wyatt says during our conversation, shaded by some trees with a breeze coming off Lake Couchiching, music drifting over to us from multiple stages at the Mariposa Folk Festival; a perfect summer’s day.

As hard as they try, it’s not so easy for a talent like Wyatt to shift the spotlight. Wyatt’s classically trained vocals are casually impressive, gentle and confident, warm like sunshine. And they’re just one element of Wyatt’s vivid, confident songwriting. Chandler sports stunningly textured arrangements and sincere storytelling. It’s laidback, with a vibrant presence that draws you in like home.

It’s a success that Wyatt credits largely to his community: “I was sort of just learning as I go, learning from my peers and my pals.” Shout out to Chris Maureen who helped Wyatt with music grants, to their label Royal Mountain Records for helping with the marketing side of things, John Ross from Wild Pink for the line “scary like A24” in Oh Vibrant Sky, to their dad for teaching them guitar as a kid…the list goes on and on; a reminder of how we’re all made up of the people around us, if we’re really real.

And an extra special shout out to artist and Wyatt’s long-time partner, Kait, who turns “I” into “we” whenever talking with Wyatt. “We’re such a great team and I think it’s cool, sometimes I get in my head, you know, I’m on stage and in a way it comes down to just kind of singing for her, and I’m always looking forward to getting to hear how it is that she felt.”

It was in Wyatt and Kait’s first apartment in Calgary that the inspiration for Dancing With Sue struck.“We were making our space comfortable how we wanted it. Getting to songwrite and create this world where there’s a lot of symbolism, a lot of like sun and moon, a bit of feminine energy…the lyrics can mean a lot to me. And it makes me think of my partner as well. And it also makes me think of being free…”

In their wandering way, the mention of freedom makes Wyatt reflect on their exploration of fashion, their love of thrifting everywhere they go, and the JUNO award-nominated album artwork they created with Vanessa Heins and Erik M. Grice. Elegant, simple, and earthy, the artwork for this album cycle sees Wyatt serving stunning androgynous looks, surrounded by items that have personal significance.

“I wanted to pick a few pieces that spoke to me. Doing the artwork for a song called In Emerald, we had so much fun thrifting some glassware. Vanessa picked up some flowers, and I also went to an indigenous centre in Toronto and I got to pick out a few sweetgrass braids. So that was a big part of it, things that you’d find in my place hanging on my wall. I wanted a few pieces that felt like home with me in that session.”

Their music video for Bobtail Road is equally personal. “That song makes me think of being on the porch with my dad playing guitar.” So that’s exactly where the video takes you.

Directed by close friend Corey Gomez from production Mezzo and Co, “It was such a fun day spent with him, his fiance, and my partner. The four of us went out on the rez to see my cousin and his partner and their beautiful kid River. You’ll see in the music video, he was showing us his Spider-Man shoes.”

The result speaks a lot to what the song is. “It was a sweet moment of getting back to… you know, that was my auntie’s place that I grew up going to a lot. For my dad’s side of the family, it was really cool to get to watch it with all of them and my grandpa who’s 92 and getting to see his reaction.”

It’s the community where Wyatt got their start, finding refuge in music and in the local choir. “At that young age, just wanting to have a sense of belonging, choir really filled some of the void there, like as a kid going through your parents’ divorce, there was always almost two lives. I wanted to feel like a part of something.”

That formative belonging affects Wyatt’s outlook to this day: “My voice was so high in high school so I was put in the altos right away. That can feel a little bit awkward, as you’re starting high school and you’re not really sure where you belong, so I felt like I was really supported in those formative years. I want to make people feel like that, make that space — make it inclusive, make it really open and tap into that inner child again. I think that’s really important.”

Their love of music compelled them into a music program at Red Deer College, “just a basic music diploma, but it really had all that I needed. It gave me the opportunity to perform when I needed to. Studying voice was also a really cool way to take the guitar away, having the guitar so close to my heart can sometimes be a crutch. Getting to completely remove that and focus on my voice was so formative and so essential.”

A music business course showed Wyatt that the industry isn’t for the faint of heart: “It was really scary to finally look at the music business side of things and how cutthroat it can be, how daunting and overwhelming it could be for someone emerging…I’m still learning how things go and really fortunate with the team that can give me that time to focus on things creatively.”

Although they’re new to being approached by fans and signing shirts, Wyatt is already aware of the power they have and extremely considerate of how this position can create change.

“…I feel a little bit of imposter syndrome sometimes in these spaces, those kinds of systems that were not made for us, but I know that I can use music as a tool to express myself a little more… I know how important my words can be for a lot of youth. Being from Alberta, there’s this urge to leave — I know how important it is not to do that so abruptly, or without thinking of the people who can’t leave those spaces. There’s definitely more room for change in all avenues and I’m being kind of generic with what I’m saying, but I want to keep learning. I think it’s so important to keep learning.”

Wyatt is looking to explore more “topics that are hard to talk about” in their new music, “finding a way to talk about it in an honest way. Just like my queerness too, like I’m trying to be more open with that. I can definitely feel like there’s a bit of holding back [on Chandler], but I know that as a songwriter I can act as a vessel for bringing up those important conversations. Especially living in Alberta, for a lot of queer and trans youth, I want to know that my music can be sort of an escape for them.”

It’s not all so serious though — Wyatt has a playful and open spirit that comes across in conversation, and they’re bringing that to new music, too. “I’m trying to be more witty just even with myself and trying to be not so serious with my music, but also get to unpack a lot of things about myself. I’m fortunate that I can use music as a really good tool to express myself.”

With Chandler out now, there is already a lot to celebrate behind and a bright future ahead. Wyatt’s album release post on Instagram makes it clear that they’re on this journey for the long run:

a solid high-five to my younger self:
𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘬𝘪𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘶𝘯. 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.

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