Description
About the artist: Chloe and Jason share a passion for Australian folklore and bush music, and take great satistfaction from breathing new life into forgotten songs. Always a captivating concert experience, Chloe and Jason present a striking mix of strong original songs, old-style ballads, well known bush song, and lively dance tunes, accompanied by some fascinating background on where the items come from, and the performers who played them.
A Voice That Was Still
Chloë Roweth (vocals, mandolin & bouzouki)
Jason Roweth ( vocals, guitar & bass)
Jim McWhinnie (bodhran)
Once again we’ve rounded up a diverse mix of Australian material for the new CD, “A Voice That Was Still.” There are some magic old poems set to music, some bush songs and few more contemporary ones, and even a couple we’ve written ourselves, with a sweet selection of tunes to round it all out. Bob Rummery of Sorento in WA has been a wonderful source of material for our recordings and this one is no exception – thanks Bob! and please keep on sending them over. Bob has a knack for setting songs to music so naturally, you’d swear the poems were born wearing those tunes, and he write s a mean mazurka too…
Many of the songs on this CD resonate with a pioneering spirit, a willingness to make your own way, and when some of the stories themselves are of times long past, there is a certain poignancy or universality that we find very appealing, and which seems to unite the present with the past.
We thoroughly enjoyed making this CD, playing once again with Jim McWhinnie, bodhran player and bodhran maker from Bathurst, NSW. The arrangements seemed to fall naturally into place and the resulting “band” sound of the recording is very satisfying for us. See what you make of it..
Chloe & Jason Roweth (with Jim McWhinnie) – A Voice That Was Still Review by Ian Dearden
Chloe and Jason Roweth (who happen, happily, to be married to each other) are two of Australia’s fi nest contemporary performers of traditional music. This album of songs and tunes from and in the tradition, was recorded at home, in snatched opportunities based on their toddler’s sleep patterns. A recording tip from Chloe and Jason for new parents – take over your (nearby) in-law’s house in their absence (gives you peace and quiet), pop the baby monitor under a fi sh bowl (no static on the recordings) and go for it like crazy and watch those little fi ngers on the fl ashing buttons and dials when the little one’s awake. Let me tell you – they’ve used their snatched moments well and concealed the stresses with extraordinary ease. Chloe’s strong and delightful voice takes the lead vocal on most of the songs, with Jason’s sturdy baritone rumbling underneath her alto on the choruses. Jason’s guitar and bass playing is tasteful and rock solid, while Chloe’s mandolin and bouzouki plays a delicate ornamentation on the top end. Jim McWhinnie (the third person in this duo) lends a deft hand, where appropriate, on the bodhran. There are eleven songs (with Jason taking the lead on a couple) and fi ve tunes (or tune sets) which weave themselves beautifully into the fl ow of the album, gliding it to its end with Megan Jane’s Mazurka (written by Bob Rummery). The songs, including a number of poems set to music, range across the classic tropes of the Australian musical landscape, featuring tales of shearers, diggers, farmers and the Condamine. This is a delightful album, from a couple who have not let parenthood get in the way of recording (and sharing) great songs and terrific tunes with all of us.
