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Jodi King http://www.jodiking.com/

http://myspace.com/jodiking

Singer/songwriter Jodi King has been surrounded by music and melody as long as she can remember. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba into a family that gathered every Sunday at church to sing in the choir, Jodi recalls: “Even Lilly, my Ukrainian grandmother joined us. She was a soprano.” Soon thereafter, the piano caught her attention and, as a 4 year old, Jodi began writing her own songs, each sophisticated enough to feature separate verses and progressions.
By high school, Jodi was fully immersed in music, singing backup on tour with popular Western Canadian singers including Juno Winner Steve Bell and Jon Buller. Some performances saw Jodi solo in front of 3000 plus patrons. Jodi remembers a guest turn performing background vocals on a Christmas album by the beloved Fred Penner as one of those unique experiences that cemented her resolve to pursue her dream to become a singer.
For the past two years, Jodi has toured tirelessly across Canada, building a grassroots following on the strength of her two self-released EPs: 2007’s The Acoustic EP and 2009’s Street Lights EP which have sold a combined 11,000 units to date. The word-of-mouth buzz culminated in a 2009 Covenant Award nomination for Inspirational Song of the Year for “Breathing In / Breathing Out”, featured on the Street Lights EP.
The two EP’s set the stage for Jodi’s forthcoming full-length debut LP, Little Smile, which was written over a two year period in concentrated writing sessions sandwiched in between tour dates. Collaborations with Damhnait Doyle (formerly of Shaye), singer/songwriter and emerging Broadway talent Kyle Riabko and veteran guitarist Stuart Cameron (son of the late John Allan Cameron) took place in Toronto. Jodi wrote with Colin Munroe in Los Angeles in between shows at the venerable Hotel Café. Other songs emerged during brief stopovers in Winnipeg and Nashville.
In spring 2010, Dallas Austin protégé Colin Munroe and Walter Afanasieff protégé Adrian Bradford begun the process of turning the writing demos into fully realized songs. Munroe’s (Lights, Sia, Travis McCoy) eight productions represent the bulk of Little Smile and feature his signature blend of organic and synthetic musical elements, resulting in bright, soaring, crystalline pop songs that showcase Jodi’s vocals. Bradford’s (Meiko, Mat Kearney) four contributions anchor Little Smile with a live-off-the-floor, atmospheric quality, revealing Jodi at her most beautifully vulnerable and natural. Veteran engineers Joe Zook (Kelly Clarkson, P!nk, Katy Perry) and Bryan Cook (Meiko, Sia, The Raconteurs) collaborated with Munroe and Bradford to mix the album.
The resulting LP is – like Jodi herself - disarmingly sincere, honest and completely without pretense. Whether marveling at the natural beauty of her home, Winnipeg, nestled in the prairies in central Canada, (“Home”, “Breathing In / Breathing Out”), poking fun at herself and her inability to convincingly pull off the latest trends at the mall (the LP’s first official single, “My Boyfriend’s Jeans”) or declaring her true love for a boy (“Your Reason”, “Synthesize”) in every note Jodi sings, she embodies the proverbial ‘Girl Next Door’.
Although 10 of the 12 songs featured on Little Smile were written or co-written by Jodi herself, the thread weaving the songs together is Jodi’s voice. Evoking the fresh-scrubbed, natural vocals of a young Sheryl Crow, Jewel or Chantal Kreviazuk, the intimacy of Jodi’s delivery is a much-needed antidote to the auto-tuned antagonism of female artists currently dominating FM pop radio.
As the release of Little Smile looms near, Jodi is optimistic about how the songs will be received: “I think there is room for pop songs that are genuine and uplifting. That’s what I do best and that’s what I want to share – as far and wide as possible…” With each song and performance converting more and more music lovers into fans of Jodi King, it’s becoming clear that music, quite simply, is what Jodi was meant to do.
Little Smile is slated for release on August 24, 2010.

Lynne Hanson http://www.myspace.com/lynnehanson

http://www.lynnehanson.com

WINNER 2010 Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award
“Lynne’s songs have a beautiful, haunting feeling, into which you can sink and be enveloped.” Ontario Arts Council jury

"Killer third by Canadian songbird...more in common with the assured touch of Gillian Welch or Lucinda Williams. "Riptide" could easily be the best song Welch has yet to write". - Uncut (UK)

"This album, the third and arguably her best one to date, is a refreshingly creative Americana album crafted by one of Canada's finest emerging artists. With this release, Lynne sets a standard few established artists can match and that others can only dream about." — Dennis Brunnenmeyer, Nevada City Limits, KVMR-FM, California

Once The Sun Goes Down a bright new star rises. Meet Lynne Hanson. This Ottawa-based singer/songwriter is poised to light up Canada’s roots music landscape with this compelling new album. She is justifiably proud of it, calling it the fullest expression yet of her artistic voice. “I am willing to live or die by this record,” Hanson declares.

Spend some time with this record, and it will burrow deep into your heart, never letting go. Hanson’s poetic and passionate songs are neatly framed by an all-star supporting cast. Her core band comprises multi-instrumentalist David Baxter (Justin Rutledge, Bob Snider), drummer Blake Manning (Matthew Good), bassist Brian Kobayakawa (Creaking Tree String Quartet) and keyboardist Jason Sniderman (Blue Peter). Making invaluable contributions are Justin Rutledge (banjo), Gilles Leclerc (mandolin, backing vocals), Kevin Fox (cello), Paul Reddick (harmonica), Roman Tome (percussion), and background vocalists Lynn Miles, Jack Marks, Max Heinemann, and Joshua Cockerill.

Baxter produced, recorded and mixed Once The Sun Goes Down at his knob & tube studio in Toronto. “We worked together so well,” says Hanson. “David pointed me in the right direction though I never felt pushed. The sessions were actually great fun. For me to play with that calibre of musician is just a joy. It means you bring your A game, as you want to show your best.”

In turn, Baxter was highly impressed with Hanson’s talent and work ethic. “Lynne means every word she sings. She uses traditional song forms and stories to tell a very personal story. A terrific, direct singer and a great guitar player.  If she was a boxer, they'd say she punches above her weight.”

The warm and intimate vibe of their sessions is neatly captured here. It’s a musically rich record, but the centre of attention is always Hanson’s hauntingly pure vocals and emotionally eloquent songs. Reference points for her country-folk rooted style include Gillian Welch and  Lucinda Williams, though, intriguingly, Hanson only began listening to those artists once the comparisons kept coming up. “It may be that I just listened to the same stuff they did,” she says.

Hanson’s early love of jazz was later replaced by bluegrass and traditional country , while teenage years included singing and playing Neil Young songs at home. If pressed, Lynne will describe her sound as “porch music with a little Texas red dirt. I write these songs on acoustic guitar in my kitchen. I want them to sound like the original concept, except with a band. I call it porch music, as it’s like everyone in the neighbourhood comes over and brings their instruments.”

It is hard to fathom that Hanson only began writing her own songs five years ago. She released a well-received debut album, Things I Miss, in 2006, followed by 2008’s internationally-acclaimed Eleven Months. Lynne credits fellow songsmith Paul Bourdeau as a mentor, and he co-wrote five of the new tunes. Travelling the international folk circuit has  kept Hanson’s muse fired up. “The more I am around great songwriters the more I learn about how to try to be a good songwriter,” she says.

There’s no cause to be modest about songs as strong as those on Once The Sun Goes Down. Many of them have been strip-mined from Hanson’s personal life, and she dissects matters of the heart with scalpel-like precision. She calls “Three Times Bent” “the story of my emotional life over the past five years. Music has saved me during a very difficult time personally.”

The album takes the listener on an emotional rollercoaster ride, beginning with the anguish of “When Lovers Leave,” moving through the hesitancy of “Here We Go Again” and ending on an optimistic note with “Lilacs Dancing” (“you answered the call and turned my heart around”). The most character-driven song here is the powerful tale of “Mary Mary.” “Every record needs a good murder ballad,” laughs Lynne.

Appearances in the Finals of the New Folk Competition at [famed Texas folk festival] Kerrville, an unofficial showcase at South By Southwest in Austin and appearances at Folk Alliance in Memphis last year brought unanimously positive audience responses. These have been duplicated at her frequent appearances at folk festivals and clubs in Europe and the U.K. in recent years. Whether solo or opening up for such folk greats as Dar Williams and Lynn Miles, Hanson’s relaxed and warm persona has won fans at every stop. No surprise that she is now in real demand on the house concerts circuit as well. Lynne’s profile at home is also increasing, as shown by a Canadian Folk Music Awards nomination in 2009.

A notable recent appearance at Stanfest in Canso, Nova Scotia elicited a warm reaction. Hanson laughingly recalls that she brought good weather karma to the event. “I told myself ‘I won’t take rubber boots and it won’t rain ‘cos I’m not prepared!’ It was the first time in years it had been sunny!” A bluegrass workshop she performed with JP Cormier was a festival highlight.

Not that festival organizers need Lynne Hanson’s good weather luck to justify a booking. Once The Sun Goes Down strikingly demonstrates she deserves a place in their events (and your CD collection) on musical merits alone.