JENNIFER CASTLE’S “BLOWING KISSES”

Photo by Jimmy Limit.

 

On the ravishing country-soul ballad “Blowing Kisses,” her first new song in three and a half years, the celebrated Canadian songwriter Jennifer Castle contemplates time and presence, love and prayer—and how songwriting and poetry both manifest and limit all four dimensions: “No words to fumble with/I’m not a beggar to language any longer.” Featuring a sweeping string arrangement by Owen Pallett, performed by Estonia’s FAMES Skopje Studio Orchestra, “Blowing Kisses” can be heard in its entirety during the pivotal scene of the penultimate episode of the third season of FX’s The Bear, which premiered last night, June 26, on Hulu. 

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Jennifer writes: “‘Blowing Kisses’ is a love letter sent from the very front of the occuring present moment. Language can be so futile; I always loathe explaining myself, and yet my love for you makes me want to try, my hands gesturing in endless loop. One day I will no longer be here to revere the buoyancy of the blue lake. I’m held by the loving energy of God. Every rose has its thorn, truly, but let’s focus on the rose for now.”

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The serendipitous story of how Castle’s music came to be used on The Bear begins with a longtime friendship with Matty Matheson (Canadian chef and restaurateur who portrays the beloved handyman Neil Fak on the show) and their real-life history working together in a restaurant.

Castle shares: “It’s a great honour to have a song in Season 3 of The Bear. I met Matty at the original La Palette, a small French restaurant in Toronto where we both worked in our twenties. I was a waiter, and he was a chef. That restaurant was like a family to me, and we became fast friends: blending the worlds of work, music, art and family. I have watched him go on to become the beloved celebrity chef and entrepreneur that he is today, but upon meeting him near the dish pit twenty years ago, I would have guessed that would have happened anyway. The sparkle in him is true, and was as true back then as it is today. 

“After watching Season 2 of The Bear last summer, and completely falling in love with the show, I sent him ‘Blowing Kisses.’ He shared it with his team, and to my delight things fell into place. What a special way to premiere this song! I will be watching along with the millions of other people who have fallen in love with this show. Congratulations to Matty, sending all my love and admiration for the people that make this show. Honoured to have a tiny role in its magic. Thank you!”

 

 

Acknowledgments

Castle reaches a pitch of mystical transport so gorgeously ethereal she seems about to drift off into lands that don’t appear on any map. – Greil Marcus, The Believer

Castle’s music is not so much of the earth as floating above it, untethered to the natural order of time and space … She effortlessly conveys the conflicting emotions that accompany loss. – Pitchfork

No hyperbole, Jennifer Castle is a spectacular songwriter. Castle’s singing carries the joy of life. – The FADER

Castle channels the lunar radiance of Emmylou Harris and the heartfelt barroom blues of Jimmie Dale Gilmore, quietly gleaming with a rustic beauty and a deep, patient understanding of the mystic. – Aquarium Drunkard

Castle’s songs are vibrant and bountiful landscapes, and even in their quietest, darkest moments, they thrum and glow. As a songwriter, Castle has a stunning capacity for crafting lines rich with nuance, humor, and devastating beauty. – CBC

Few songwriters write about malaise with as much charm and empathetic chill as Nigel Chapman. – Aquarium Drunkard

Brimming with passion and protest … Immediately familiar, yet bracingly distinct… one the most intriguingly idiosyncratic lyricists this side of Dan Bejar. – Pitchfork One of the most fascinating songwriters we have today. – Newsweek