This atmospheric depth permeates Total Cinema, an album that captures an artist who has found clarity in making "the exact record I wanted to make." After years of determined evolution and a creative breakthrough with 2022's Cerulean, Yates has crafted his most immersive and dynamic work to date—a widescreen vision that embraces both the shadows and light of human experience.

"I don't think I found my 'sound' until Cerulean," Yates acknowledges. "It took me a decade to figure out the kind of music I wanted to make." This recognition of being a self-described "late bloomer" belies the strength of his earlier work, but carries the characteristic modesty and wisdom of an artist who understands that authentic creative identity emerges on its own timeline. 

With Total Cinema, Yates widens the frame. His work, marked by precision, emotional depth, and a quiet kind of intensity, now takes on new dimensions. Where Cerulean was a study in restraint—hypnotic, meditative, deeply introspective—Total Cinema expands the lens, embracing electric textures, dynamic shifts, and an unshakable pulse that feels urgent, alive.

Working with producer Dan Ledwell in his Halifax backyard studio, Yates builds upon the atmospheric foundation of his previous work but adds new colors: sharper contrasts, broader instrumentation, a rawer sense of motion. "I wanted Total Cinema to be a lot more dynamic, different tempos, different vibes, different colors," Yates explains. This expansion of his sonic palette represents the natural progression of an artist no longer constrained by necessity or expectation.

The shift is more than sonic—it's thematic. If Cerulean was steeped in grief and introspection, Total Cinema is a reckoning with gratitude, self-awareness, and the absurdity of it all. The turning point came with "Under the Cover of Light," an uncharacteristically buoyant song that signaled a creative shift. "I was getting tired of playing the role of the brooding, tortured artist all the time," Yates explains. "I found myself starting to call out my own bullshit in the things I was writing."

That realization unlocks something across the album's eleven tracks—a newfound willingness to explore joy alongside cynicism, to let the light in without losing the weight of experience. Tracks like "Perennials" (featuring Yates’ favorite lyric on the record: "when you become a memory you can never lose a fight / empty out your closet but keep all the clothes you like") sit beside the punchy, pop-forward "Greatest of All Time," proving Yates is unafraid to push his own boundaries.

The recording process itself was marked by both collaboration and restraint. Joshua Van Tassel provides the rhythmic backbone, while Ledwell layers bass, piano, synths, and horns. Guest appearances from Jenn Grant, Breagh Isabel, and Kinley Dowling add warmth and texture, grounding the album in a shared creative energy. 

The album’s title track emerges as the final piece of the puzzle—a poignant meditation on truth, self-reflection, and the tension between illusion and authenticity. For Yates, the phrase “Total Cinema” transcends its filmic origins, becoming a lens through which he interrogates his own existence. "What is real is beautiful," he explains. "Film aspires to represent reality perfectly—it’s about capturing something wholly, undeniably real." It’s a fitting metaphor for Yates’ mid-thirties reckoning, a time of self-assessment and introspection. "I’m calling out my own bullshit," he says. "I’m looking at my life, embracing my reality, and asking—what do I really want? And what do I want life to look like from here on out?"

Yates arrives at Total Cinema riding a wave of growing recognition. Recently selected as an Official Showcasing Artist at both SXSW and Americanafest 2024, he's been opening for acclaimed artists like Madison Cunningham and Kathleen Edwards while expanding his collaborative reach through songwriting with artists including with Katie Pruitt, Lori McKenna, Tiny Habits, Trousdale, Jenn Grant, and John Mark Nelson. His previous work has garnered robust support across streaming platforms, landing on playlists like "Your Favorite Coffeehouse," "Infinite Indie-Folk," "Fresh Folk," "Breaking Singer-Songwriter," and "New Music Friday Canada," with Apple Music already championing his latest singles.

Total Cinema is exactly that: a complete picture of Ken Yates in 2025—an artist embracing his evolution in real-time, crafting songs that celebrate this moment. For listeners who have followed his journey, it's the culmination of a path worth taking. For newcomers, it's an ideal entry point into the work of an artist who has learned that the most compelling stories are often those that take time to fully develop.