Introducing Morning Fox, a new guitar album by Philippa Dowding and Allister Thompson

This album is one year old today! Repost, for posterity.  

Welcome to MORNING FOX, a beautiful new guitar album of ten old and new instrumental pieces! 

As with all my music, my collaborator is my editor and friend, Allister Thompson. We've been making music together for 8 years now, and MORNING FOX is our fifth album.

The album is available here:

Bandcamp (please leave a small donation if you can)

Spotify

Youtube (free to you, artists get paid) 

Hopefully you'll find your own favourite, but personally I love the soft, sensual tones of SONNET, and the lively fingerstyle of LISLEHURST. The title track, MORNING FOX, is my signature version of Travis Picking style, pretty lively.

Art by Patricia Storms

This album is my first on a new, smaller guitar. Usually I record on a full throated L'Arrive 6-string, which I love. But most of the songs on this album were recorded on my new Taylor Grand Touring 3/4 guitar, a beautiful but smaller instrument that is easier on my hands, so you might notice a slightly quieter tone when you compare this album to previous recordings. 

A friend said to me on Monday, March 20 (after listening to the album), "Your music is becoming more nuanced." I think that's the whole point of mastering an instrument, a real compliment. I hope you enjoy this new album!

Thank you to the lovely Toronto artist, Patricia Storms, for the foxy album cover art. As always, I try to use high-quality art from talented local Canadian artists. The Henry VIII theme is in keeping with a trip to England I'm taking in the fall. 

For more of my music on Spotify

 

Sequined Mountain Ladies

Birches in Summer, by Baye Hunter www.bayehunter.com

I do two things reasonably well in life. One is write books, the other is play guitar.

Listen to: Sequined Mountain Ladies

In case you missed a blog post from last month, I have a new guitar album out, with my long-time editor and musical collaborator, Allister Thompson. This is our second album, the first was Fifth Season (Nov, 2015).

The new album is called Birches, and is graced with cover art by local Toronto artist, Baye Hunter.

Sequined Mountain Ladies is my (current) favourite piece. Enjoy!

When authors and editors write music together, Part 2

Birches in Summer, paper collage, by Baye Hunter

It's been two years since my first album release with my long-time editor and wonderful musician, Allister Thompson, but today is the release of album number two! I'm so honoured to share it with you.

Please enjoy Birches at Bandcamp
It's also available free here: Birches, FMA 

You'll find eight instrumental guitar pieces, in the style of Bruce Cockburn or Samuel Beam, inspired by the Canadian forest of Algonquin Park and the Haliburton Highlands.

Here's the title song: Birches 

There's a song for my sailing life, Outer Harbour, and the companion piece, Algonquin. I play both songs with Travis picking, a distinctive style I love. There are a few songs celebrating family life, including Sarah Tiptoes, written for my daughter. And there's even a tip of the hat to Lovecraft, Mountains of Madness, where Allister does some very scary stuff with his voice.

This release also includes my first vocal recording, Moonlight. I have to thank Allister for convincing me to record it, but it's a lovely song about sorrow which is also bound with love and joy. I wrote it for my sister-in-law, who had the most beautiful voice of all.

Many thanks also to Baye Hunter, another musical friend and a terrific artist, whose paper collage work, Birches in Summer, adorns the cover. You'll find more of Baye's collage and watercolour here: www.bayehunter.com

Our first release, Fifth Season (Nov/2015), has had over five thousand listens, and one song, Summer, was the Free Music Archive Song of the Day in May, 2016. Plus, many tunes have been adapted by various folks in artistic videos, you can see them on my Youtube channel (I love the one from the Netherlands the most, I think, it's the windmill).

It's always a joy to create music with my friends. Please enjoy Birches, with our gratitude.