For this episode I veer away from my normal format to interview an old friend, Ida Nilsen, known for her music project Great Aunt Ida, in advance of a few shows she was playing in the area. Great Aunt Ida has been making music under this name for over twenty years, starting in BC, moving to Toronto for a stretch, and then Detroit before returning to Vancouver. We talk a bit about this history, where her and I connected along the way, and her journey to and from music as she also navigated an undergrad and then PHD in architecture and landscape architecture. As her studies started crossing into soundscapes the worlds started at times to collide, and Ida has graduated, and returned to music with a whole new collection of songs. It’s wonderful to have her back, and I’m delighted to get to share the bill with her for a couple of her remaining shows on this Ontario tour. By the time this is posted the shows will have gone by, so please excuse all the details reminding you of upcoming shows. Hopefully she will return again before too long!

This interview was originally recorded on April 9th, 2026

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