Artist.......: Matt Epp
Album........: Orphan Horse
Label........: ind
Genre........: Indie
Catnr........: n/a
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: May-03-2008
str.date.....: 000-00-0000
quality......: VBR/44.1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: www.mattepp.com
track title time
01. She's High Water 03:26
02. Orphan Horse 04:07
03. Junction City 03:14
04. My Love Will Come 02:18
05. Come Clean 03:01
06. You Should Know 04:48
07. The Mom Song 03:52
08. Sophia 03:46
09. Love is a Camel 06:58
10. Falling is Easy 04:53
Runtime 40:23 min
Size 40,4 MB
Release Notes:
Why Winnipeg singer-songwriter Matt Epp chose to
title his 2005 debut YouÆll Find Me Alone is a
mystery, because itÆs unlikely thereÆs a musician
in the city with more friends and acquaintances.
When it came time to record 2006Æs Love in Such
Strong Words, Gilles Fournier, Dan Frechette,
Kristjanna Oleson, Ron Halldorson and members of
The Duhks, The Waking Eyes and Twilight Hotel were
just some of the people who showed up to help. The
assembled cast of musicians filled out EppÆs folk
sound, creating a disc more musically diverse than
his first.
While the 27-year-old is grateful for the
contributions his friends made, he admits now that
he was ôhiding behind a lot of stuffö on that
album. He thought performances by better-known
musicians would equal more listeners. He was wrong.
When it came time to tour, Epp couldnÆt play most
of the songs because he didnÆt have a full band
with him.
Instead he turned to solo acoustic material like
ôSheÆs High Waterö and ôMy Love Will Come.ö Both
songs appear on EppÆs latest CD, Orphan Horse,
which heÆll release Wednesday night at the West End
Cultural Centre.
ôI know this album is more like me than anything
has been before,ö Epp said, sipping a pint of Fort
Garry Dark. Recorded live-off-the floor in five
hours this past December, Orphan Horse captures the
essence of EppÆs live show: just him, singing and
playing the guitar and harmonica.
San Francisco-based singer-songwriter (and Epp
confidante) Jesse DeNatale describes it as an album
ôwhere Frank Sinatra meets Ryan Adams and walks
with Sam Cooke to Woody GuthrieÆs house.ö ItÆs an
apt description, as Epp manages to tap into a
variety of musical traditions to create 10 tracks
that sound simultaneously classic and new.
Lyrically, the disc covers similar territory as his
previous efforts: faith and relationships. God and
girls always seem to be on EppÆs mind, and nowhere
is that more apparent than on ôSophia,ö in which
the titular character commits suicide after her
lover leaves her, and ôLove is a Camel,ö in which
Epp sings, ôThe prairie ocean was whipping the
beach without mercy / And æOh my God how great thou
artÆ was all that I could say.ö
ôMy faith infects everything in my life, but itÆs
not like I have an agenda,ö said Epp, who became a
Christian around the same time he started playing
music just over five years ago. He doesnÆt pretend
to have all the answers, and he certainly doesnÆt
aim to evangelize. ôItÆs about connecting with
peopleÆs hearts, and writing something that teaches
me as well.ö
He points to ôFaith the Bowö from his first disc as
an example. The song, which deals with Christian
themes, has resonated so deeply with a friend of
his who practices Buddhism that she got the
refrain, ôKnowledge the arrow, faith the bowö
tattooed on her arm.
ôItÆs just a testimony to the idea that connecting
with people is the most important thing,ö Epp said.
DeNatale has witnessed the connections Epp has
made, and describes him as gracious and humble.
ôMatt does his music 100 per cent,ö DeNatale said,
ômeaning if heÆs trying to make a connection [with
the audience], itÆs Matt the musician, but at the
same time, itÆs Matt the person.ö
Dan Donahue, who has worked with Epp on all three
CDs, agrees.
ôAmongst his peers, Matt is highly respected,ö
Donahue said. ôIÆm not just limiting that to a
musical perspective. His whole persona, and his
devotion to the way he lives his life. . . MattÆs
the real thing.ö
Now that Orphan Horse is ready to be released, Epp
is looking forward to touringùand making more
friends and connections.
ôAt my shows I usually share whatÆs on my heart,ö
Epp said. Sometimes that means saying a lot, and
sometimes that means saying nothing at allùit
depends on what heÆs sensing from the crowd.
ôMusic is mysterious,ö Epp concluded. ôDoing this
whole thing is a mystery.ö