The Pukka Orchestra was an award-winning Canadian ‘new wave’ band based in Toronto, Canada in the 1980s and 1990s and became an important and revered contributor to the ‘Queen Street’ music scene of that era. After a long hiatus, The Pukka Orchestra completed a new album in 2023 – Chaos Is Come Again – of reworked, remixed and remastered tracks from its two prior recording sessions that never saw the proper light of day.

The album was mastered posthumously after the death of Graeme Williamson in 2022, the voice and writer of The Pukka Orchestra. Released by Pacemaker/Cadence Records, Chaos Is Come Again includes liner notes by Alan Cross.

Besides the obvious truism that every human life is important, part of the inspiration for their single, “Every Man and Woman is a Star,” there is the astonishing fact that stars that go supernova are responsible for creating many of the elements of the periodic table, including those that make up the human body. The song also draws inspiration from Graeme‘s desire to seek out opportunities to play music. Although success is validating, he knew that being true to yourself is what will bring contentment, rather than fame.

“As is everything Graeme wrote, it’s an important message, straight to the listener, wrapped in a catchy tune,” says Iris Williamson, Graeme‘s surviving widow. “The lesson I always take from hearing Graeme‘s work again is that he effortlessly elevates a simple, every day phrase to reveal its fundamental truth.”

For the bandmates of the late Graeme Williamson, getting his songs heard and his legacy sustained were the most important inspiration. Producer Neil Chapman had recently finished producing Graeme‘s solo album, Because You Were There, and hearing his voice and words and songwriting again, so close and intimately, made him want to pull out the unfinished Pukka masters from the late 80s-early 90s and rebuild them to today’s standards and perspective.

As Graeme Williamson’s widow I feel a huge responsibility to accurately represent his views on his music, at the same time as being acutely aware that it is impossible to do so. I do know that Graeme’s songs are a reflection of his views on injustice and those who seem invisible in our society. 

He wrote all his life and he felt it a ‘gift’ but I saw how much effort and skill he put into crafting his songs. We spoke to Iris, below.

What can you share with readers about your new project?

This new project began with my sharing the songs Graeme wrote after the Pukka Orchestra. Neil Chapman began to add and mix new stuff into Graeme’s original recordings of guitar and voice and then the idea came for looking again at the old Pukka Orchestra recordings.

How does this release compare with your other projects you had in the past?

Obviously, Graeme is not here to be involved in the project which is heartbreaking, but Neil knows Graeme’s tastes very well and I think Graeme would have been happy with the additions to the tracks. 

What about this single makes you most proud?

For me, that both original fans and a new audience might hear and identify with the songs. 

Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release?

It’s about legacy. We feel this music is important. 

What inspires you to create music? What motivates you to keep going?

Graeme wrote all his life. Despite his chronic bad health, he has left an incredible body of work which I am trying to share. I think he is an important voice: true, compassionate and honest. His motivation never left him: he had to write about the world he saw.

If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.

This is impossible for me to answer. We listened to many genres of music. He loved the work of many musicians from Janacek to Jimi Hendrix (I mention these because he mentioned them in the two novels I have been editing recently) He always played guitar and composed, but I do know that the first evening I spent with Graeme in Toronto, he played me a tape of Ice Age, a song about destruction and hope, and told me that Neil had listened to it once, then played a perfect beautiful guitar solo in it. He thought Neil just understood what was needed. Graeme loved when Neil added to a recording Graeme had sent. 

What was the last song you listened to? Favorite all-time bands/artists?

The last tracks I listened to Arooj Aftab, Kintaro Akiyama (whose father, Denis, an old friend, was in the Pukka Orchestra). Bands Graeme and I listened to; Tinarawen, Nitin Sawnhey, Wilco, Wilko Johnson, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Dylan, Klaus Nomi, Calexico, MC Solaar,  Gillian Welsh, Miles Davis, Anouar Brahem, Amy Winehouse… 

Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?

I am available through Graeme’s website graemewilliamson.co.uk 

I really appreciate your time. Is there anything you’d like to share before we sign off?

In this moment is all our happiness, it’s now or never Graeme W.