Wyatt C. Louis Captures Life’s Fleeting Moments On Chandler

The rising Indigenous songwriter’s delicate songwriting comes to life in a series of beautiful melodic vignettes.

by Sebastian Buzzalino

Photo by Vanessa Heins

Published on July 22, 2024

The cover design for Wyatt C. Louis’ debut full-length, Chandler, features a plaintive profile of the Mohkinstsis-based Indigenous singer-songwriter looking off camera, off record to the right, against a green backdrop, barely shrouded by an emerging spring blossom. The photo — taken by Toronto photographer Vanessa Heins back in 2022 — is delicate and precocious, a quiet moment in time and space that seems to slow everything else down with it. There’s a subtle confidence in Louis’ gaze, perhaps complicated by a sense of unease over the unwritten future, but grounded all the same by who they’ve become on this collection of songs.

“I’m trying to be at an honest point with myself and in every aspect of my life. It’s definitely hard, hard to be vulnerable, but looking at those photos and looking at even the first version of Chandler, a lot of the songs that didn’t make the cut, just getting to see the growth is beautiful,” they reflect. “I definitely see my younger self just sticking to what feels comfortable, but also, feeling a bit scared, just not knowing what’s to come. It’s a little bit of self-confidence, a little bit of self-doubt… it’s overwhelming being more in the public eye [with the release of this album,] just more in the spotlight.”

Louis is soft-spoken; the timbre of their voice both during our interview and on their album is like a comforting summer breeze that rustles the prairie grasses of their hometown of Wetaskiwin. Their connections to their land and their community are all over Chandler, serving as talismans that protect against the pressures and anxieties of the world — especially against the ones that threaten to pull them too far from their home life and family. They pull their community close through music, stronger together than the sum of their parts.

“This is good therapy,” they laugh, “getting to talk about these songs, talking about the people who I love that inspired these songs: my dad, his strength, knowing that strength in myself… I’m at the point in my life where I can learn a lot from these experiences. Sitting with that uncomfortability, sitting when I feel more comfortable too, makes for really beautiful moments, really special moments.”

“I think music can speak for a lot of people that might be scared to kind of feel honest or vulnerable, might be scared to open up. I find a lot of my songs tend to be more poetic, in a sense. And then I love to take on a lot of memories together and evoke that same feeling or emotion.”

Within this context, Chandler emerges as a gentle pastiche of sun-faded memories. The sparse and subdued arrangements belie the complexity of the memories that drive each song’s narratives, fading one into another like a waking dream sequence. On “Dancing With Sue,” perhaps the most upbeat song on the album, Louis opens the door to a childhood dance party with their father playing guitar around the circle. The more contemplative “Bobtail Road” is an ode to their relationship with their family and the strength they derive from their connection.

Photo: Vanessa Heins

“I feel like I’m still trying to find meaning in some of my own songs,” they admit of their songwriting process. “A song like ‘Bobtail Road’ makes me long for Treaty Six; Bobtail Road just means a lot to me and my family. It was beautiful getting to make that song, for one, but also to tie in the visuals to make a really beautiful music video, include my dad, and include my cousin and his beautiful family. We got to watch that on the rez with some of my dad’s family and we were just all laughing and I really long for those times.”

“It makes me sad that I can’t have that all the time, but it makes me excited that I can resort to those memories when I need an uplift. I’ll always have that.”