KARYN ELLIS - EVEN THOUGH THE SKY WAS FALLING - Press Release
Like many musicians who have achieved critical success only to find themselves just as broke and no farther ahead than they were when they started, Karyn Ellis was getting ready to throw in the towel on the music business and get a real job.
Just then, an envelope showed up from the Canada Council—a cheque for a hard-to-get composition grant she had forgotten she’d even applied for.
So began a series of events that not only kept Ellis making music, but resulted in her going all out — recording a breakthrough album that pairs her quirky songwriting and sensual, naïve vocals with a cornucopia of alluring production elements: strings, horns, choirs and glockenspiels, just to name a few.
Suddenly, instead of feeling isolated in the business, Karyn Ellis found herself surrounded by exceptional musical friends: Evalyn Parry, John Millard, Amy Lang (Hidden Cameras) and Brian Kobayakawa (Creaking Tree) just to name a few. And instead of scrambling to pay for recording costs, Ellis had money from both the Council and FACTOR, allowing her to fund the 16-member musical extravaganza. She even had her coffers topped up with donations from fans. The resulting album, Even Though the Sky Was Falling, is a celebration of the beauty and redemption to be found in chaotic times like those Ellis had been going through in her own life.
One song was written while a friend was dying of cancer. Another was inspired by watching a series of creepy CSI episodes. Three tracks were penned while Ellis sat in the parking lot of a major festival, bummed not to be on stage performing … but none of this is obvious from listening. “Beauty,” which is dedicated to the memory of Ellis’ friend Joceyln Porter, is a simple, sprightly number filled with uplifting lyrics like “I am filled with joy”—complete with bouncy trombone lines, “doo doo doo” choruses and singing toddlers. “Be My Girl”—the CSI song—is a plaintive reflection on breaking free from the “beautiful victim” role that women are so often cast in. “Bitter Grasses,” one of the spurned-by-a-festival numbers, sounds to all the world like a spurned-by-a-lover song with a bit of a vintage country surf feel to it.
The diverse sounds are all woven together into a cohesive package with help from co-producer Don Kerr, best-known for his work with Ron Sexsmith.
Visit Karyn's youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/mathilde22cat