Hawksley Workman is spreading his wings and flying the coop.

After spending the last few years working his way to the forefront of the Canadian music scene, the Toronto-based singer-songwriter is packing up and heading for Europe.

"I'm moving to Paris in October," the 25-year-old Workman says. "I don't know yet whether for the short term or for the long term. We'll have to just wait and see what happens."

But the reasons behind the move are well grounded, he says -- it's partly to make the most of the upcoming European release of his latest album, the sensually glammy (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves, partly to write new material, and partly to put some private time back into his daily calendar.

"I resonate at a peculiarly high velocity and generally I need my surroundings to be slower than I'm resonating for me to be creative," says the always pithy and erudite Workman. "In other words, I find it hard to write songs on the road. I think it's because my eyes are so open. They're like cupboards. I've been packing them full of groceries. And now it's time to start cooking.

"So, yes, you will be seeing less of me soon. But the less you see of me, the more I see of me."

But not before that relentless touring schedule brings him back for his third Winnipeg engagement in the past 12 months, a two-night stand at the West End Cultural Centre next Thursday and Friday.

Not that he's complaining about coming back.

"I think Winnipeg is fantastic," he says. "I love the way it looks. If you don't look too high on some streets, you can think you're in New York, because the architecture has been untouched for years, unlike a lot of other cities where they're constantly rebuilding."

Speaking of New York, he and his band The Wolves were supposed to perform in Manhattan on Sept. 11, the day of the terrorist attacks, but ended up stuck in Toronto waiting on a plane that never took off.

"I felt entirely useless when I couldn't do my thing," says Workman, adding he picked up the tour days later in New York State and feels it was the right move both as a performer and an artist.

"We were watching the news early on, and they said Americans weren't ready to be entertained yet, but, in general, people have been responsive. They seemed to appreciate us being there.

"I don't really know if I've given the whole situation enough thought, but it's the start of a new time and I think, as an artist -- and not to speak selfishly or inconsiderately -- if there are positives to come from this, it's that we will be thrust into new ways of life and they will be exciting."

And he has no concern that his own new way of life in Europe may be a bit too exciting, given the increasing likelihood of military action in the Middle East.

"I've spent my life being afraid of a lot of things," he says frankly. "It's only been in the past couple of years that I've tried and succeeded in letting go of fear."