The Sweet Lowdown are thrilled to announce the release of their first full-length album and they are bringing their talents to a house concert in Sooke on Sunday, June 12.
The Sweet Lowdown is this year’s winner of Monday Magazine’s M Award for Favourite Roots/World Music Group.
This vibrant trio has been creating quite a buzz in Victoria’s bustling old-time, bluegrass and acoustic music scene. Their fresh sound ranges from sweet and lilting to edgy and hard-driving.
In January, the trio played their way across Canada (via train) to Toronto, to record their first full-length album with producer and sound engineer Andrew Collins (The Creaking Tree String Quartet, The Foggy Hogtown Boys). The album features the band’s one-of-a-kind sound and highlights their unique voices, insightful songwriting and skillful musicianship.
Band members Amanda Blied (guitar), Shanti Bremer (banjo), and Miriam Sonstenes (fiddle) each contribute to the album’s original repertoire which is layered with rich vocal harmonies and beautiful instrumentals that both float and pulse over relentless old-time grooves and driving bluegrass rhythms.
From the ethereal harmonics of the opening cut to the lonesome sound of a passing engine in the final, The Sweet Lowdown is a diverse musical journey that takes the listener from a warm afternoon on the front porch to the outer reaches of the universe. The wide range of the band’s instrumental talents are highlighted in compelling instrumentals such as the poignant original Sapphire Waltz and hard-driving bluegrass inspired Ten Bar. With appearances by guest virtuosi Andrew Collins on mandolin and Andrew Downing on bass, this album caters to lovers of all forms of roots music—from old-time, to bluegrass, to acoustic folk — as it pays homage to its musical roots while simultaneously breaking new ground.
The house concert takes place at the Ocean Wilderness Inn at 9171 West Coast Road at 7 p.m. For information on tickets call Lori at 250-646-2116 or go to www.oceanwildernessinn.com.
For more information about the band’s tour, visit them at www.thesweetlowdown.ca or on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/the.sweet.lowdown.
You can catch The Sweet Lowdown at their regular weekly gig at Victoria’s Fernwood Inn, from 8 p.m. every Tuesday night.
