Quote the Raven creates new music with help from a parrot
Have a First Listen to Golden Hour by Quote the Raven
Quote the Raven have some heavy-hitting songwriting help on their first full-length album: Chris Kirby, Charlie A'Court — and Monty the parrot.
Jordan Coaker and Kirsten Rodden-Clarke, the members of Quote the Raven, were at a songwriting camp at Kirby's new home in East Lawrencetown, N.S.
The duo and their collaborators had made headway on a song, until they got stuck on a spot.
That's when Monty, Kirby's parrot, started squawking.
"He [Monty] always says, 'Play Free Bird,'" said Rodden-Clarke.
"And it just worked perfectly. It rhymed, it made complete sense."
Songwriting camp
That collaboration with Monty, the Allman Brothers-loving parrot, became the title track for Quote the Raven's new album, Golden Hour.
Kirby contacted the duo after hearing their debut EP, Misty Mountains, and invited them to his house for a two-week songwriting camp.
Over that 14-day period, Kirby invited half a dozen other East Coast songwriters to work with Quote the Raven to help the band hone its craft.
"We wrote 14 songs in four days" Rodden-Clarke said.
"It was one of the coolest experiences ever," added Coaker.
The band's Golden Hour
With Kirby as producer, they selected the best of that batch of songs and created the album Golden Hour.
"The idea of the golden hour is that perfect time at sunrise and sunset for taking a picture," said Coaker.
"I feel like that's the definition of this album. It's our Golden Hour."
Have a listen to Quote the Raven's conversation with Weekend AM's guest host, Jamie Fitzpatrick.
Do you have a new album of music Weekend AM should know about for First Listen? Email us and tell us about it.
You can hear First Listen on Sundays on Weekend AM from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. (5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Labrador) on CBC Radio One.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Jamie Fitzpatrick