On the fourth of March 2019 I went into a small studio in Brisbane with Nell Forster my trusted collaborator and dear friend. We had a vague idea to record an album in one night. I took with me my acoustic guitar and a selection of old and new songs. We recorded 13 songs in a few hours in the afternoon. We were then joined by Hannah Jane who brought with her an ancient violin and an haunting angelic voice. We worked long into the night. When we left the studio at dawn this morning we took with us 13 songs mixed and mastered ready for the world. Recording with Nell is one of the the easiest and most joyous things I can do. Working with Hannah for the first time was a revelation. We have resolved to continue singing and playing together...I think we made something special here. It is raw honest and heartbreaking music and it took a lot of energy to get them out of my system. Like Townes Van Zandt said blues is happy music. It really is. Though it must be said that these songs were tough to play. Death was all around us. To be sure this album is a celebration of the living and of the recently departed. Featured on this album is a song by a Texas songwriter by the name of Calvin Russell. I want to give special mention to Dave McGarry for turning me on to Calvin. When on tour in France last year I kept seeing his name on old gig posters. He played many of the venues we played. I hope I did his song justice.
I’m proud of what we did last night and I hope you get some love from these songs.
Sincerely, Rhyece O’Neill 5/3/19