Ivan Hartle Unveils Bluesy and Soulful Debut Album, ‘A Place to Stay’

Canadian artist Ivan Hartle has released his highly anticipated debut album, A Place to Stay. The Vancouver-based artist expertly weaves retro soul, jazz and blues elements to create a vintage sonic aesthetic with modern sensibilities.

His debut album A Place to Stay exemplifies this sound, the 10-track offering delves into themes of personal relationships, love, hardships and the connection to others. An introspective record at heart, Hartle draws inspiration from his own experiences and the world around him. The result is a collection of tracks that offers the listener a rich sonic tapestry of diverse sounds and subject matters that Ivan painstakingly crafted over a few years.

Speaking on the album Hartle states,

“Obviously, life is very nuanced and circumstantial, but sometimes the act of looking deeply within yourself can reveal an answer to a problem. For example, in the song ‘Set Me Free,’ I write about feeling lost or looking to someone or something for help, but a line that I really connected with suggests ‘maybe it’s there in my reverie… maybe I’m unaware that it’s all in me.’”

The album’s lead single ‘Love in the Lead’ further illustrates Hartle’s writing style, with the track aiming to answer one simple question, ‘Is love in the lead?’, with Ivan exploring whether love can truly outweigh destructive human traits such as greed, jealousy and hate.

Ivan Hartle ‘A Place to Stay’ album artwork