Darlingford, from Cara Luft

Darlingford by Cara LuftAs a Juno Award winner and co-founder of popular Canadian roots band the Wailin’ Jennys, Luft’s folk credentials are beyond question. Nevertheless, she brings something fresh and new to her third solo album, after 2007’s The Light Fantastic and 2010’s One Take Only. In it she mixes together many influences and inspirations: original songs, old ballads and contemporary covers. Songs such as “Bye Bye Love”, “Idaho” and “Off My Mind” are intensely personal songs about love, friendship and heartache.

Instead of heading to a glitzy studio for her third solo album, Darlingford, Luft set up camp in a rotation of remote locations, such as the United Church in Darlingford, Manitoba. The sound she captures is the sound of travel: of long drives, crashing at friends’ houses, crossing borders, and touching hearts one performance at a time.

Cara choose to record in old churches and other unique spaces in the small prairie towns of Rosebud, Cochrane and Darlingford, from which the album gets its name. Darlingford draws on collaboration with many artists. Cara co-wrote many of the songs with her friend Lewis Melville. She also brought in many musicians from around the world using the power of the Internet. Musicians such as England’s Scott Poley and American folk legend Tim O’Brien sent files back to Canada to be engineered. The result was a truly international collaboration.

Artist’s website: www.caraluft.com