A little about each song:

When You Find Your Heart is Broken: the seeds of this song were sown on a trip down to Connecticut with my wife and children. We listened to Jackson Brown, Carole King, James Taylor and Paul Simon. I find the doowop influence in their music sort of adorable and quite authentic. I've always loved the accessibility of that style and I found myself at the piano in the following months playing the pretty parts of this number. I'm floored by the background vocals of Robin Dann and Felicity Williams, they wrote the parts and delivered them with so much colour, joy, and tenderness.

Are You Down?: I was listening to a lot of Al Green for a bit. I love his writing voice, both musically and lyrically. He is both honest and spiritual in a beautiful way. Around the same time, a few of our friends seemed to be spiralling a bit and I wanted to write for them. This song emerged at that point and was produced and arranged by Pat Brennan, and co-produced by Beatchild (Drake, Divine Brown).

April Snow: this was one of those, "I will sit down and try to write a song" songs. It was snowing in April when I wrote it and I thought the words were pretty basic and maybe a little dumb, but I kept working on them over a few weeks and managed to finish it. About a month after it was finished, I realized that the song is directly related to a recent loss in the family and what an "Act of God" can feel like. It was my way of getting through it.

Pat Brennan's sister-in-law, Anna Miles, graciously lent her voice and flute-playing to this track.

Everlasting Memory: I wrote the melody and chords for this song listening to a lecture about Ukraine under Soviet rule. For a certain period Ukrainians were forbidden from practicing their religion, which meant no holidays, no communal prayer, none of the traditions and rhythms which had been central to life. They would meet in secret to celebrate holidays. The bravery and resilience of these people is astounding. After writing the music, I began to think about what my relationship was to them, those who were dead- those who I'd known, and those who I'd heard about. Putting things right, keeping a candle burning, honouring traditions... what is there to do? The funeral service in Ukraine has a refrain, from which this song takes its own, everlasting memory. Ours, theirs, God's. This song is a meditation along those lines.

Special features of this one are Samuel Nadurak playing the cello and Stefan Shewchuk playing the solo on electric guitar.

Come to Me (album version): This is the first song I wrote during that period of spiritual renewal. I wrote it while driving- melody first. It's the simplest way to write, without an instrument, and I end up being especially devoted to songs I write this way.

The best part of this recording is Doug Tielli playing the tuba and trombones. I had heard a song of Doug's ten years ago (you can hear it here: dougtielli.bandcamp.com/track/a-dream-that-i-am) and I loved the horns. So I sent him an email, totally out of the blue, asking if he would consider playing horns on this tune. He not only said yes, but he sent me seventeen tracks to work with the next day.

We re-vamped this one a bunch so it would fit better with the rest of the songs on these EPs.

A couple general notes about the genesis of this project:

1) I had a period of spiritual renewal which really established my vocation as an artist and inspired the writing of these songs. In late fall 2019, I felt the call and I answered it. What ensued was the work. It felt easy, but it took plenty of time and much of my attention. It is a pure joy to create and the purity of it is undeniably the experience of grace at work.

2) I met Pat Brennan around the same time. He's the producer and piano-player who was crucial in making these songs and recordings what they are. I met him through a friend, sort of by chance ;-) and he has become a friend and a cherished collaborator. His arrangements, adjustments, ideas, instrumentation, and flair became so important to this record that at one point I proposed that we be a band. He turned me down, but working with him has given these songs the sun they've needed to bloom.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks to the City of Ottawa for supporting this project!