Nova Scotia musician T. Thomason’s run of collaborative singles with notable Canadian artists continues this week with the release of his latest: Bliss Pt. II featuring Halifax-born adult pop icon Sarah McLachlan.
The pair first met in 2019 when Thomason appeared on CTV’s The Launch, which included McLachlan on its celebrity panel seeking to boost emerging talent. On that episode, the Antigonish-raised performer was the singer ultimately chosen to perform and record the song Hope by Jocelyn Alice Strang, Bobby Campbell and Jimi Bell, and produced by Australian songwriter Alex Hope.
The song was written after Thomason made his first solo trip to the U.K. where he was born, experiencing it for the first time as an adult and reconnecting with family members and friends. Being overseas also gave him some perspective on where his life and his music might be headed, and in the song his own feelings blended with advice he’d received from his parents prior to the trip.
For such a deeply personal song, McLachlan was the first voice he thought of to join him on the song’s new arrangement.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Sarah's music for a long time and thought this could be a wicked fit musically, but getting to know her a little bit in the last couple years and seeing the relationships she has with her daughters and lifelong friends was really what catapulted this collab into my mind,” says Thomason on the release of the new song and lyric video.
“Bliss is precious to me, and the only way I could imagine reimagining it was if it felt right all the way down to the bones. I'm so excited to have Sarah bringing her magic to Bliss Pt. II, she's had a bigger impact on me as a mentor than she probably realizes. I hope this tune brings you bliss and joy and a little bit of a pinch-yourself thrill like it does me!”
Deeply moved by Thomason’s performance on The Launch, and impressed by his down-to-earth approach to making music, McLachlan says she responded immediately to her fellow Nova Scotian’s suggestion of a collaboration.
“When he reached out earlier this year to ask me to lend my voice to his reimagined version of Bliss, a hauntingly simple ode to self-discovery and resilience, I was thrilled to be able to be a part of it,” she says. “T. has a deep emotional connection to the songs he writes and a soul-baring truth to his performances and I’m so proud of what he’s accomplished with Bliss Pt. II.”
Bliss Pt. II follows Thomason’s King of Spades Pt. II featuring Rose Cousins, Loser Pt. II featuring Ria Mae and Birdsong Pt. II featuring spoken word artist and LGBTQ+ activist Ivan Coyote. Its lyric video features artwork by Megan Green — who illustrated the booklet for Thomason’s last album and the Part II single covers — which was then animated by Josh Own.
“Josh is an incredibly hardworking and patient collaborator,” says Thomason. “His faith in this project made me feel like a real director! It brings me so much joy that the talent and hard work of fantastic Nova Scotian artists like Megan and Josh is all wrapped up in this release.”
