I'll bet you wish you had a teacher as cool as this when you were in school. When she's not busy substitute teaching, Kate Maki is recording albums of sparse folk music that have earned her comparisons to Neko Case and Neil Young.

The 30-year-old singer/songwriter from Sudbury, Ont., is currently touring across Canada in support of her newest album, On High. The album was recorded last March over a period of five days. Maki says that the short recording period was born of necessity.

"It's a financial constraint," she says. "Nobody wants to give me money to make records, so I have to fund them myself. Plus, I was working full time as a teacher, and I was only allotted five days in March. But it worked out really well."

On High has earned rave reviews with its eclectic mixture of contemporary folk songs that are carried by Maki's sweet, soaring voice. The album was produced by U.S. folk icon Howe Gelb, and Maki says the recording process went smoothly.

"We always record live off the floor so it's always kind of spontaneous and experimental. There wasn't really any need for any overdubbing afterwards. Like, a couple songs we added some stuff, but we were all pretty happy with the space, and it was pretty stripped down and bare bones and we didn't feel the need to add anything."

While Maki may make beautiful music, explaining where it comes from is more difficult for her.

"I have no idea. That's such a hard question because I don't know where they come from. Does anybody really know where they come from? They come from a song bank in the sky I think," Maki says. "You have a moment alone, you're strumming a guitar or playing a piano and the words just sort of subconsciously appear and the next thing you know you've sang this song."

Maki is being joined on tour by a crew of fellow singer/songwriters. Nathan Lawr, Cindy Doire and Ryan Bishops will all be performing onstage with her.

She says she's bringing her friends on tour with her so they can see Canada, and so Canada can see them.

"I thought it was time I toured across Canada again - it's been a few years," she says. "We just wanted to bring the music to both coasts, because we haven't done it yet."