Photo: Scott Doubt
We are pleased to premiere “Free Man” by multi award-winning Canadian Soul-bluesman, Matt Andersen from his upcoming album, Halfway Home by Morning, via True North Records, out March 22. And Matt Andersen has the pipes. Listen to this song and see if you don’t agree.
Nearly two decades into his storied career, Andersen’s room-shaking, heart-quaking voice has won him countless awards, including two European Blues Awards, seven Maple Blues Awards, plus an International Blues Challenge, and a Canadian Independent Music Association nod, and a JUNO Award nomination. His lengthy tenure as Canada’s resident bluesman speaks for itself.
Matt Andersen says, “I make many trips home from many different places. No matter where I’m coming from, it’s that last hour that always feels like my own front yard. Have a listen to “Free Man” as I show you a bit of the scenery from the drive that carries me home.”
Produced by JUNO-Award-winner Steve Dawson and recorded “live off-the floor” at Southern Ground Studio in Nashville, Halfway Home by Morning showcases Matt Andersen’s soulfully-powerful vocal pipes, backed by a band of all-star musicians, including Amy Helm, who guests on “Something to Lose,” a masterful, Memphis/Muscle Shoals-fueled duet with Andersen.
Halfway Home by Morning is Andersen’s 10th full-length release. The new disc captures the New Brunswick, Canada native’s long-signature and internationally celebrated sound of sweat-soaked soul meets incendiary rhythm and blues, with full doses of heartsick folk and Americana grit mixed in for good measure.
Halfway Home by Morning is the sound of an artist doing was he was born to do — laying his soul bare using the music that can’t help but run through him.
Much like legends who graced the space before them, Andersen and the band left everything they had on the floor of Southern Ground studio over the course of recording Halfway Home by Morning’s 13 tracks.
The recording space, too, soon came to feel like home Andersen. The kitchen fulfilled its all-important role as de-facto “war room” for musicians who join on the release, like Steve Dawson, Jay Bellerose, Chris Gestrin, Amy Helm, The McCrary Sisters (Ann, Regina, and Alfreda), Jim Hoke, Charles Rose, and Steve Hermann; and after the day’s work was done, Andersen and bassist Mike Farrington routinely found themselves kicking back, listening to the horn sections and reminiscing about the players they’d shared stages with before.
Halfway Home by Morning inspires soulful rejuvenation while looking outward at the anxious state of the world, offering a helping hand while at the same time, searching inward to clarify what really matters.
“There really is nothing like listening back in the studio and everybody has the same smile on their face over what we’re hearing,” Andersen shares. “You can’t fake the vibe of musicians playing together, responding to the choices others are making in that moment.”
“A powerhouse voice that could pack a football stadium” – The National Post
“Blues man. Soul man. Lover man. Andersen is all of these and more on Honest Man. But despite being his most eclectic disc, the New Brunswick singer-songwriter’s 10th release is also his most satisfying, thanks to his engaging rootsy songcraft, powerfully warm vocals and lyrics that balance the personal and the political. Ultimately, he’s his own man.” – Toronto Sun
Matt Andersen Tour Dates http://www.stubbyfingers.ca/tour/
MUSICIAN CREDITS
Matt Andersen – acoustic and electric guitars, vocals
Steve Dawson – acoustic and electric guitars, pump organ, pedal steel, mandotar
Mike Farrington – bass
Jay Bellerose – drums & percussion
Chris Gestrin – Hammond organ, wurlitzer, piano, mellotron
Amy Helm – vocals on Something to Lose
Ann, Regina & Alfreda McCrary (The McCrary Sisters) – vocals
Jim Hoke – saxophones
Charles Rose – trombone
Steve Hermann – trumpet
Horns arranged by Jim Hoke with Charles Rose and Steve Hermann
For more information on Halfway Home By Morning by Matt Andersen:
Looks & sounds great!