B-Side Guys

Creative droughts eventually give way to downpours. Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Dylan Perkons’ “Edge of the World” arrived in just such a moment—composed almost entirely in one sitting during an online songwriting course that pulled him from a creative fallow period. The resulting track, featuring the enchanting vocals of Sian Alcorn, captures that rare alchemy when personal memory crystallizes into universal resonance.

Recorded primarily at producer Jonas Bonnetta’s secluded studio Port William Sound (two hours from Ottawa), with additional vocals and piano captured in Perkons’ Vancouver home studio, the track creates sonic geography that mirrors its emotional landscape. The production choices establish both physical and psychological space—room for contemplation amidst natural surroundings, reflecting the song’s lake-centered narrative.

What distinguishes “Edge of the World” from similar indie-folk offerings is its examination of bravery’s multiple dimensions. Beginning with literal courage—jumping from a cliff into lake waters despite hesitation—the song expands this physical act into metaphor for emotional risk-taking. Perkons explores relational vulnerability with nuanced perspective, acknowledging both admiration for another’s fearlessness and comfort in their shadow.

The instrumentation creates appropriate sonic context for this exploration, with Perkons handling vocals, guitar, electronics and piano while collaborators Michal C Duguay (accordion), Jonas Bonnetta (mellotron), and Sian Alcorn (featured vocals) provide textural enhancement. Particularly effective is how these elements combine to create atmosphere rather than competing for attention—mirroring the song’s thematic emphasis on connection rather than individual prominence.

Most compelling is the track’s evolution from specific memory to broader reflection on forgiveness and healing. When Perkons acknowledges that “the heart it moves at a glacial pace,” he captures both the frustration and inevitability of emotional progress—recognition that healing occurs in its own time despite our impatience. This notion of gradual but definite improvement—”I swear I’m getting better every day”—transforms personal reconciliation into universal aspiration.

The decision to film the accompanying music video on 16mm film further enhances these themes, utilizing a medium that captures moments with distinct warmth and slight imperfection—much like memory itself. This aesthetic choice reinforces the song’s celebration of meaningful moments that “really stay with me and feel almost magical in my memory.”

“Edge of the World” serves as evidence that sometimes our most affecting artistic expressions emerge not from grand ambition but from honest examination of seemingly ordinary moments—a day at a lake transformed into meditation on human connection and emotional growth.