Kyp Harness

Kyp Harness (born December 9, 1964) is a Canadian social activist and folk singer, known for the poetry of his lyrics.

Harness was born in Sarnia, Ontario in 1964. He arrived in Toronto, Ontario in 1984 and began playing in coffee houses and open stages across the city, most notably Fat Albert's, where he met fellow songwriters Ron Sexsmith, Bob Wiseman, and Bob Snider.

In 1987 Harness recorded a demo tape with Bob Wiseman, then of Canadian roots-rock group Blue Rodeo. Songs from the recording emerged with others on Harness' debut release 'Nowhere Fast in 1991. From the beginning, the bleak, wry poetry found on the admittedly low-fi release attracted attention, with Crash Magazine declaring "Kyp has his own style. It may not be a style that everyone likes, but there are those of us who think he's a kind of genius".

Harness' first CD release, God's Footstool (Amatish), followed in 1992. Drummer Don Kerr produced the album, diverging from the bare bones sound of 'Nowhere Fast' to implement cello, trumpet, and sax in creating a more colourful backdrop for Harness' circusy/cinematic lyrics. Canadian Composer noted it was "an album that sparkles with rich, vital imagery and audacious song arrangements", with Bob Wiseman proclaiming in the same article "He's a genius, a revolutionary...he creates pieces that are dense with imagery yet are continually stimulating, informative and innovative."

In 1994 Harness released Welcome to the Revolution (Amatish), a stark album of raw folk-based music, which included intensely narrative-driven songs like "Song for a Man", "Ballad of Curtis Merton", "Jackson Homer" and "Chemical Valley", painting pictures of alienation, Everyman angst, environmental collapse, and apocalyptic fury. Melodic laments such as 'Wayward Son' and 'Remember Love' offered some respite from the grimness, and overall the release featured some of Harness' finest writing. The Toronto Star called it one of the year's "most passionate and articulate albums". A video shot on super 8 mm and 16 mm film for "Chemical Valley" was released in 1995 by Toronto-based director Liz Marshall.

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