ABOUT FRUITION: [https://www.fruitionband.com/home]
FRUITION’s newest album, _Broken at the Break of Day_, shines a
light on all five members of the band, whether it’s on the traded
lead vocals of “Dawn” or the irresistible rhythms of “Where Can
I Turn.” As it’s been for more than a decade, their sound is hard
to define, but the songwriting and the harmonies tie their diverse
influences together.
For example, “Counting the Days” is a poignant love letter, while
“For You” shows the exasperation of maintaining a relationship on
the road. The band’s most electrifying rock moment, “Do What You
Want,” is then followed by “Nothing More Than Spinning,” which
sounds like a folk song interpreted by Queen. The stunning vocal blend
heard in “At the End of the Day” brings _Broken at the Break of
Day_ to its beautiful and touching conclusion.
Although it’s a challenge to categorize, the seven-song album feels
whole because of the band’s dedication to honesty as well as
harmony. The Portland, Oregon-based band is composed of Jay Cobb
Anderson (electric guitar, vocals), Kellen Asebroek (piano, acoustic
guitar vocals), Jeff Leonard (bass), Mimi Naja (mandolin, electric
guitar, vocals) and Tyler Thompson (drums). _Broken at the Break of
Day_, recorded in Thompson’s basement in between tour dates, follows
the band’s exceptional 2019 album, _Wild as the Night_.
“This process was the quickest the band had ever wrote and recorded
the songs,” Thompson says. “All the songs obviously fit either a
‘day’ or ‘night’ theme, but the whole rehearsing and recording
process had to be done in about half the amount of time we were used
to. That time limitation leant us to not over think things, play
instinctually and all live in the studio with very minimal overdubs.
All the songs are very different, but I think the speedy process
naturally created some sonic congruency.”
The prolific band will release _Wild as the Night_ and _Broken at the
Break of Day_ together on vinyl as well, giving listeners the option
to hear the music as a collective body of work in a playlist-focused
era.
“From a visibility standpoint, being able to release more music more
often (even if it is in smaller doses) is ideal in the new frontier of
digital music that we have found ourselves smack dab in the middle
of,” Asebroek says. “It's nice to be able to stay on people's
radar, in an age where people have instant access to the whole of
music history at their fingertips. It’s also nice to put these out
together on vinyl as a nod to the way things once were”
With a renewed focus on harnessing the energy of the live experience,
_Wild as the Night_ and _Broken at the Break of Day_ allow listeners
to get a glimpse of all five band members doing what they do best on
stage, whether they’re opening for the Wood Brothers, Greensky
Bluegrass, and Jack Johnson, or playing at festivals like Telluride
Bluegrass, Bonnaroo, and DelFest.
Their unmistakable vocal blend first revealed itself in 2008 when
Anderson tagged along with Asebroek and Naja for an afternoon of
busking in Portland. Drawing on their string-band influences early on,
they released their debut album _Hawthorne Hoedown_ that same year.
Thompson joined the band in 2011, shortly after hearing the band
members singing together in a friend’s attic. Leonard came on board
in 2015. _Broken at the Break of Day_ is the band’s tenth release,
including EPs and LPs.
“We pushed ourselves like never before. But in the end it all turned
out great,” Anderson says about the sessions for _Broken at the
Break of Day_. “It was a bit more of a hectic process to get things
done and recorded. I can’t believe it sounds so good, when we did it
all so fast.”
ABOUT BRYAN ELIJAH SMITH:
[https://www.bryanelijahsmith.com/?fbclid=IwAR0EI45Ca4TsjgHl4iNZmIRZgsKQOkcCMnynV8SjB3ExMxxR95e4FrZgw0M]
Bryan Elijah Smith is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter based
out of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Smith’s innate
songwriting ability and haunting voice leave you with a sense of
timeless nostalgia. With over 1,000 songs penned & 11 independent
releases, Smith is creating a self-produced legacy that began with his
first song at the age of 18. Aside from touring the United States
for well over a decade, Smith has also toured internationally in
both Australia & Honduras. Crossing a wide array of genres, what gets
produced has been compared to the likes of everyone from Bruce
Springsteen to Kings of Leon. Smith recently won 2nd place in the
prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest 2019 where
the title track to his new album, ‘In Through The Dark’, was
1 of 12 songs chosen out of 970 national entries. Smith has been a
CASC finalist 2 years in a row (past finalist include Gillian Welch,
Tift Merritt & Lera Lynn). 'In Through The Dark' won 1st place in the
Unsigned Only 2019 international songwriting contest where there
were 6,000 entries from over 100 countries. ‘In Through The Dark’
also appears in the new NETFLIX series 'Virgin River' which premiered
in December 2019.
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04/03/2020 Last update