New Canadian kicks 24 year-old kathleen edwards continues the legacy after alanis morissette. she sings about drunks, married men, unconventional women and restlestness. now her "failer"-album is released in norway.  despite being only 24 years on the planet tellus; she is already being called a canadian singer/songwriter sensation. even david letterman, the talkshow host, is a big fan. and the trade magazine mojo has picked her debut album "failer" as one of ten albums we just have to buy this year. alone on tour kathleen edwards' road to a record contract and world-wide launch goes way back. it started with a small girl who discovered her older brother's record collection, and fell in love with bob dylan, neil young and tom petty. - gosh! i couldn't get enough. and when i some time later got a guitar as a birtday gift it was settled. i started to play myself, she recalls. in 1999 the young edwards distributed the ep "building 55" - a very country orientated thing. in the autumn of 2000 she started a tour - all on her own. she booked the gigs herself and drove around all of canada in an old, rickety car. - i met so many nice people who opened up their homes to me. if not, i could just sleep in the car, edwards laughs, and admits that the solo tour wasn't the smartest thing she has done. - i was so thrilled about playing and wasn't thinking about that it could be dangerous driving around on my own. fortunately it turned out fine, says the woman who's greatest inspiration is the independent artist ani difranco. - you just have to admire her. she's got balls and have never let herself be controlled by a record company. i admire her ability to put up her own limits. no more a married man 24 year-old edwards writes about expressly grown-up stuff: strong drinks, love problems - and married men. - the understanding is that a young girl who has a relationship to a married man is being used. in my bed it's the married man who ends up being used, she says, but adds: - first and foremost is that song a statement about what i don't want to use my life and energy on. i sing about something which looks great at the beginning, but which really develops to be negative. no more a married man, she concludes, and admits that she wrote a lot of the material to "failer" right after she ended a relationship. at which point she left the city life for the country life, got herself both a cat and a garden, peace and quiet.. - what do you think is the reason that so many critics point to the maturity in waht you're doing? - my family moved around a lot when i grew up. we lived in both korea and switzerland, and i constantly had to learn to see things from a different perspective. she was just a young girl when she brought her guitar and played acoustic shows at small, small clubs. - it's a very good experience! i advice all the music talents out there to start at the bottom: that way you can work yourself up - piece by piece. veronica carlsen nrk.no translated by suzanna				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews