Borderland
 Borderland features 12 songs and two violin instrumentals, recorded live with a band of stellar musicians. As always, Lowry’s songs are both heartfelt and uplifting, and cover a wide range of musical styles – all built around his rich vocal and skillful acoustic guitar playing.
The sessions were held in June at Strait Studios - a converted cabin on four acres of forest and meadows on BC’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. The front porch overlooks the Strait of Georgia with Vancouver Island in the distant mist. In that secluded setting, Lowry and his band could record with the windows open and the sun shining in, and that vibe is all over this new CD.
If you’ve never heard Lowry’s music, it’s not hard to figure out who his influences are – Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, the Beatles, John Martyn, Kenny Loggins and many more of the contemporary songwriters who have shaped so much of the music we hear today. From those roots, Lowry has developed his own distinct voice and style, and nowhere has that been more clear than on this, his eighth offering. Borderland is journey that covers a lot of territory, both musically and lyrically – full of stories, ripe with imagery, and bursting with catchy melodies and soft grooves. |
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“I've listened to the new CD about ten times, and I think it's delicious...the melodies stick happily in my head.”
Beth Auerbach
Sleepy Hollow Folk Club
Falls Church, VA, USA.
“Lowry Olafson never disappoints. His songs surprise the listener with his uncanny ability to get inside your thoughts and put into music what is in a person`s heart. It’s right up there with some of my all time favorite Lowry CDs...perfectly highlights the tones in his voice that all his fans love so dearly. And as always, Lowry`s violin instrumentals are an additional treat.”
Dana Rose
Delta, BC
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Paul Steenhuis | producer | bass
Ray Fulber |engineer
John Rule | drums
Daryl Jahnke | guitar
Michael Creber | piano
Susann Richter | background vocals | accordion
Simon Paradis | electric guitar |
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Paul Steenhuis producer bass
Paul Steenhuis is a rare find. He has been around music all his life and has a vast understanding of it’s magic from both sides of the glass. He began working as an engineer in London, England when he was 19 and worked is way up through studios around many of the legends the 60s. Over the years, he acquired such a formidable grasp of both the process and the technology that he eventually founded the Ontario Institute of Recording Arts – a state of the art media school which he still owns. As an engineer, he’s worked with artists as diverse as Loreena McKennitt and the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
On this side of the glass, Paul is a muti-instrumentalist who plays a host of instruments. Not only did he produce and mix this project, he played fretless, standup and electric basses, and when my Telecaster developed a crackling noise, he wrestled it to the carpet with his soldering iron and fixed the problem in short order! |
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Ray Fulber engineer
As a longtime veteran of Vancouver’s music scene, Ray has worn all the hats engineer, producer, manager and musician. He played bass in alternative rocker Art Bergmann’s band, owned Profile Studios, worked with a who’s who of local and international artists, and quite likely “seen it all.”
Maybe that’s why he and his wife Susann Richter (more about her later,) built Strait Studios on three and a half secluded acres overlooking the Strait of Georgia here on BC’s Sunshine Coast. And perhaps the idyllic setting has something to do with it, but there’s something about working with Ray that is so comfortable. When everyone is in the zone and things are sounding good, and he rocks in is engineer’s chair in approval, it’s like a barometer in the studio telling you that all is right with the world. |
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John Rule drums
John is a drummer. He eats and breathes drums, and tho I’ve been doing the unplugged solo thing a lot over the years, once John joined the lineup, there was just no going back. For me, his grooves bring a whole new joy to the music, and make it all so easy.
For a guy with a Bachelor of Music, he sure has had an interesting and varied musical life. He toured across North America and Europe for nine years with the alternative art pop group Bob’s Your Uncle (with musician and media personality Sook Yin Lee), and backed-up jazz great Don Thompson. If you get a chance, catch him live with one of my favourite bands, the Colorifics, a hot Vancouver swing latin enemble. |
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Daryl Jahnke guitar
Daryl is best known as one of Canada’s premiere jazz guitarists, and that’s the passion that has carried him across Canada, to Cuba, Japan and New York to work with stellar musicians like Dan Brubeck, Kenny Werner, Terumasa Hino and Jeff Berlin.
Jazz may be Daryl’s first love, but he’s got the gift for a wide range of music. When we met, back in 1994, he was the only white guy in the Juno-award winning Latin band Ancient Cultures and I was their opening act. I was blown away by both his playing and his big heart and, first chance I got, invited him to work with me. He’s been a fixture of every CD I’ve done since then, and often a regular part of the trio/band.
As you will hear over and over on Borderland, Daryl is more than just a dazzling player. His solos fit so perfectly with the emotion of the songs, it’s hard to imagine the songs without them. On repeated listening, you'll begin to notice his subtle touches – the wailing slide guitar, the growly electric, the jangly steel string that that thickens and enriches the broth… Welcome back Daryl! |
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Michael Creber piano
Michael Creber’s CV could fill a book. He’s a spectacular piano player, producer and writer. He worked and toured for years with k.d.lang, the Irish Rovers and Raffi (including a performance at Bill Clinton's inauguration). He’s played with The Rankin Sisters, David Foster, Shirley Bassey, John Sebastian, Cyndi Lauper, B.J. Thomas, Roger Miller and countless more, and appeared on Johnny Carson, Arsenio Hall, Saturday Night Live, the Grammy Awards, The Smothers Brothers and Austin City Limits.
I had an opportunity to play a gig with Michael many years ago, and ever since have looked for an opportunity to work together again. He’s as gracious as he is gifted and, needless to say, it was a treat for all of us to have his talents on Borderland. |
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Susann Richter harmony vocals / accordion
Susann is a fine songwriter and singer in her own right, and her beautiful background vocals can be heard all over the Borderland CD. She has also been part of the Vancouver music scene for many years – once part of Art Bergmann’s band with Ray, and I can only suspect that underneath that calm façade lies an interesting and arguably checkered past. A photo on the control room wall, of Susann in her wilder days, accordion blurred with hair in the red spotlights certainly hints at it. |
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Simon Paradis electric guitar
Simon has been a fixture of the Sunshine Coast music scene for many years. Although his first love was jazz, most of us here know him for the more rootsy mark he made with his Telecaster, especially in The Precious Littles with my old friend Joe Stanton.
I was especially grateful to have had a chance to work with Simon and have his mark on this CD because in the weeks following his session with us, he had a tragic fall and was so seriously injured that doctors were uncertain if he would ever walk or play guitar again. Now, two years after the accident, he has amazed everyone with his recovery, once again playing guitar with the Precious Littles. |
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