As a singer, songwriter, guitarist and percussionist, Canadian born Todd Koal expresses personal enlightenment and faith in the human spirit through his music. Whether it be from his fluid vocal style or his honesty reflected in compositions, Koal conjures up a great blend of acoustic pop and light rock.
Koal lived in Edmonton Alberta until he was 12 at which time his family relocated to southern British Columbia. At the age of 21, Koal followed a “blue moon” to Vancouver, BC and has since made it his home.
Citing such influences as Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and the Beatles songwriting began in earnest for Koal in 2000. Putting his lyrics to music resulted in collaboration with Sid Perez, an award-winning songwriter/producer living in Greater Vancouver. Accolades were swift with Koal and Perez twice named as finalists in the Unisong International Song Contest for “No Reason to Hide” and “I Want to Believe” respectively. “Placing in the top ten per cent out of 4,000 entries in the Unisong competition two years running was a real bonus. It’s nice to be recognized for something I love to do.”
I Want to Believe was also featured on a multimedia presentation for The Centre for Integrated Healing in Vancouver. The Centre is a cutting edge facility designed to incorporate holistic healing (mind body spirit) with science medicine towards the prevention and healing of cancer.
Koal’s repertoire of songs brims with hope, love and life. He sums up the importance of music. “It speaks to me in ways that other forms of communication can’t. If my music touches others in the same way, it’s worth every ache, word, note and guitar lick in this world.”
His artistic endeavors brought him full-scale to founding his company, Lucky Dog Productions. Lucky Dog oversees the business requirements of being a solo artist in this ever-changing musical environment.
His debut album, A Place to Land, was an excellent example of adult contemporary rock, featuring 10 inspirational tunes. “It was a good learning experience, one which gave me a reference point from which to begin to rework some of the songs in a new light and consciousness.“
Koal believes that meditation and working with consciousness was a major factor in finding the inspiration for his newly released material.
Recorded in Vancouver at The Zone in 09/10 with producer Sean Eyre, Koal emphasizes that working with Sean was instrumental in taking his songs to a new level. “Sean has really pushed my boundaries, particularly with my voice, taking me out of my comfort zone which is great because that’s how we grow with anything we do. It’s learning how to be well with the uncomfortableness, thats the real trick. I also see it in my songwriting, Spirit is Flow is an example were there is a nervousness to it. I’m not totally comfortable, yet from the very core of my being I know this is what I need to say. It’s pointing me in a direction I want to go”.
Of the changing music scene Koal notes “There are so many new opportunities for exposure if you are willing to do the work. It’s opening up possibilities that didn’t even exist a year ago. You really don’t know what the possibilities are, kind of like consciousness.”
“Anythings possible!”
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