Joshua Engel embarks on a musical journey - Canadian Jewish News: January 15, 2002
By JOSEPH SERGE Arts Editor

TORONTO - Few CDs by one artist are as versatile as the debut CD by multi-instrumentalist Joshua Engel. Ranging from love ballads to instrumentals to harmonies to punk rock, Swimming To Catch The Sun is a personal, musical journey - a musical stream of consciousness.
"It was even weirder before I made some cuts," Engel, 26, says, realizing the limitations of such a wide-ranging collection of songs.
"It's not easy listening, but I'm not doing it for commercial success. The CD is an expression of where I'm at. It was based on a journey I took. [All the songs were written while travelling through South America - some recorded directly through a microphone on the street, complete with the sounds of traffic].
"Those were the songs I was writing then. The CD is a glimpse of that period in my life. To put some songs away in a closet [because they don't fit together] is not what I want to do."
Engel who sings, plays guitars, bass, drums and mandolin on his CD got his start very early on, enrolling at the Royal Conservatory of Music at the age of three.
"I got lots of encouragement from my parents," he says. "I started piano lessons early and then picked up the guitar - I liked the showmanship of walking around with a guitar."
Since then, Engel studied jazz techniques at McGill University in Montreal and started to explore his talent for songwriting. He's participated in KlezKanada three times, performed with many musicians, and was one of the founding members of the klezmer band Beyond The Pale, before leaving in 1999 to pursue other musical forms.
"Klezmer has a strong influence on what I do, but I don't write in that type of style," he says.
"I'm a guitar player and it's a weird feeling being in a klezmer band. You're expected to play the mandolin."
Engel still occasionally plays with Beyond The Pale, and had a guest spot on their latest CD Routes.
"I like music that surpasses classification in any genre," he says. "I don't dislike any music unless it's really horrible - even the Back Street Boys have some good riffs."
The CD is definitely a showcase of his amazing talent, even if it can throw the listener for a loop with its unexpected twists - like the funky punk rocker Punk Rock Seahorse.
"A journey is never straight and narrow," Engel explains, emphasizing the 'journey' concept behind his album. "All sorts of unexpected things happen in life."
He explains further in the liner notes of the album. "The juxtaposing of forms and styles seems perfectly natural to me. Each style compliments the others just as opposites compliment each other."
Swimming...begins with a bluesy, rocky number Same Old Songs, an expression of his disillusionment with his musical direction at the time, and picks up his journey from there.
Engel's adaptability proved useful when he got an offer to work with Starshine Productions, a theatre company that produces original entertainment for children, including the recently performed Uncle Jeb's Farm. Engel currently serves as the musical director and also acted in that play.
"We do thought provoking children's musicals. Since 1999 we've done three different productions and the company's become part of my family," he says. They recently performed a series of free shows for school kids in Detroit public libraries.
Engel still hasn't figured out exactly where he would like his talents to take him, but he says he'll be happy as long as music is part of his future. "I think I"m still searching for what I want to make a career out of. Something will unfold in time," he says confidently.
True to his musical versatility, Engel insists his next CD will be completely different. "It will be a lot more groove oriented - a little bit more fun and upbeat."
Engel performs around Toronto frequently and continues to compose, arrange and record. To pick up a copy of the CD or to sample some tunes visit www.joshuaengel.com