We're super excited to officially welcome Area Resident to the Surkeus Records label roster and community today!
Stay tuned for the new Area Resident album out spring 2023 on Surkeus Records!
✖️ Area Resident is the music of Doug Hempstead -- an Ottawa-based multi-instrumentalist.
A journalist for more than two decades, Hempstead draws heavily on the varied and often darkly humorous subjects from his career.
Hempstead records most of the tracks at home and shares them with collaborator/producer Jordon Zadorozny (Blinker The Star), a life-long friend. Zadorozny provides overdubs, mixing and final production.
What's a bit odd about the process is the songs are never written before they are recorded. Hempstead has ADHD and finds the songwriting process more enjoyable, fruitful and expedient to just see what develops -- usually trying to start each song with a different instrument to keep the sound varied and as band-like as possible.
Since the beginning in 2016, Area Resident has opened for Guided By Voices at Ottawa Bluesfest, and been a featured performer at Megaphono, Barnstorm and CityFolk Marvest festivals. Past collaborators have included Zadorozny, Miche Jette (Flecton Big Sky), John Higney (The Flaps, The Two-Minute Miracles), Dave Merritt (Golden Seals), Chris Church, Thomas Marolda (The Toms), Dave Draves (Little Bullhorn Studio) and Catriona Sturton.
Hempstead has put out seven Area Resident albums since 2016, all of them enjoying college and community radio chart success -- the most impressive of which being within the Nation's Capital.
Check out Area Resident's latest releases, "quasar" and "Polycanard" on the Surkeus Bandcamp page now!
Welcome to the Surkeus Records Community, Area Resident!
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