Vancouver roots and folk duet The Gravel-Aires present their second studio release.
The 7 song collection is influenced by styles and eras of music that poured out of dance halls, juke boxes and living room radio speakers in days gone by. In a range of roots musical genres that include Folk, Blues, Country and Bluegrass, the album features original songs by Mark Branscombe and Michael Mahoney and a version of Jeremie Albino’s song “Shipwreck”.
The album was recorded doing safe distance recording sessions in Fall 2020 with Jesse Waldman engineering and mixing at Woodland Studios in East Vancouver and mastered by Jaime Estalella at his Los Angeles facility.
Initially, a bigger batch of songs was written and some full band numbers were to make up half of the album. As conditions were not ideal for gathering in 2020, the small ensemble acoustic numbers were recorded. So…here’s Side One.
The Gravel-Aires, usually a two-piece group, fleshed out their sound a bit on this album with the addition of Steven Huston from The Bottom Shelf Bourbon Trio playing acoustic stand-up bass. Rehearsing as a trio throughout the summer on outdoor porches and patios, the group prepared the music for studio sessions.
Other friends who helped out on the recordings were Simon Kendall on electric and acoustic piano and Paul Rigby on pedal steel guitar.
~ Track list ~
1. Startin’ To Get It
2. Vaudeville 1928 (Still & Cold)
3. Bitter Man
4. Three Quarter Time
5. Streetcar Line
6. The Drinking Man’s Curse
7. Shipwreck
Available on Spotify / Apple Music / Bandcamp
