Tag: Great Lake Swimmers

LISTEN: Joshua Hyslop, “No Roots”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Joshua Hyslop
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada
Song: “No Roots” (by Alice Merton)
Release Date: September 7, 2018
Label: Nettwerk

In Their Words: “With my tour supporting Great Lake Swimmers across the USA this fall, I wanted to try covering a song that was stylistically different from my music. Someone from my record label sent me ‘No Roots’ by Alice Merton, and I thought it would be fun to try it from a folk perspective. I’d never heard her music before so I didn’t have a planned approach, but after I listened through the song once I picked up my guitar and banjo and quickly started piecing together my own version.” — Joshua Hyslop

Photo credit: Jesse Milns

LISTEN: Great Lake Swimmers, ‘Swimming Away’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Great Lake Swimmers
Hometown: Toronto, ONT
Song: "Swimming Away"
Album: Swimming Away EP
Release Date: April 8
Label: Nettwerk Music

In Their Words:  "'Swimming Away' is an outtake we were working on for A Forest of Arms. I think it stands alone well as a departure from the sound of that record, and we wanted to showcase it here in the context of an EP. It has a fleeting, ephemeral feel, and digs in sort of hard on the harmonica and layered vocals.

To complement it — and to make a little suite of songs — I’ve added a track written for the Torn from the Pages author series in Toronto (conceived and hosted by Dave Bidini) called 'Condition White,' based on author Nino Ricci’s intense new novel, Sleep. It was recorded in New Orleans. 'Innocent When You Dream' is a cover of a Tom Waits classic that has been in our live set for many years, and this is our attempt to interpret this beautiful song. Lastly, 'The Desperate Kingdom of Love' is one of my favorites from PJ Harvey. It stabs me in the heart and feels appropriate here in this little collection of songs." — Tony Dekker

Photo credit: Marina Manushenko