3/20

$20

Duff Thompson:  Duff Thompson is a songwriter, musician, and producer whose music is a swampy blend of folk, pop, and garage rock. As a songwriter, he has a rare ability to distill emotional complexity into simple, sincere songs that instantly hit the listener on a visceral level. As a producer, he draws from influences that span across decades and genres, merging them into a cohesive and organic sound recognizable as his own.
Thompson's latest work is a dark, alienated, and swaggering duology of albums titled Shadow People and Shadow People II. Created over two weeks of intensive recording during a Montreal heatwave in 2021, the Shadow People series comprise 19 total tracks split across two albums. Thompson rented out the studio space at Sud-Ouest Recording Service and produced and engineered the recordings himself, bringing along with him a 16-track reel-to-reel and songwriter/musicians Steph Green (drums, lap steel, pump organ, vocals) and Kyle Taylor (drums, piano, vocals) as his backing band and assistant engineers. Shadow People also features contributions from Mat Davidson (Twain) on strings, pedal steel, and bass clarinet. Whereas Thompson’s 2020 debut album, Haywire showcased his versatility and folk influences, Shadow People and Shadow People II are a more cohesive collection of songs that push his music further into the world of garage and indie rock. Shadow People was released October 27, 2023, to be followed by Shadow People II on June 28, 2024, out on Mashed Potato Records.
Thompson started out playing music at a young age, forming and playing in bands until 2016, when he shifted focus to being a solo artist. In addition to his own project, he has spent many years recording, and performing as a backing musician for numerous other artists, as well as co-running the DIY label Mashed Potato Records. Along with the October 2023 release of Shadow People, the past year saw Thompson performing across the US, Canada, and in Europe, ending with a six-week co-headlining tour alongside Steph Green, with sold-out dates in numerous major cities in North America.

https://www.duffthompson.com/

Steph Green:  Steph Green's music is for those who fancy the art of songwriting, depicting a lonely world illuminated by strangeness and beauty. Her sound blends elements of folk, dream pop, and indie rock, and her lyrics reveal an affecting and arresting storyteller. A spirit of independence and experimentation characterize Green’s approach to music, with all of her releases featuring her in the roles of producer and multi-instrumentalist.
Green's haunting sophomore album, Lore, is a series of vignettes that immerse the listener in dreams and nightmares of the West. It's a world where the natural and supernatural collide, wailing spirits wander lost highways, and shapeshifting starling murmurations soar overhead of restless loners. Green produced and recorded Lore at home on a 16-track reel-to-reel, and the collection of tales are enveloped by a distinctive and otherworldly sound, with weeping steel guitar, washy organ, and ghostly vocal layering reverberating from a distant dimension. Out now, Lore is a rugged, eerie, and wild homage to both a real and imagined place.
Following the October 2023 release of Lore, Green has been captivating live audiences on co-headline tours across the US and Canada, along with performances in Europe. Green started out as a traveling street musician before the chance acquisition of a cassette 4-track led her to start writing and recording her own songs, and she has since released  two full-length albums (her kaleidoscopic debut album, Thanks for That was released in 2022), and two EPs (2019’s Salt Spring Island Tapes and Spooky Love). In addition to her own project, she has also performed as a backing musician and vocalist for numerous other songwriters over the years, appearing most recently on recordings for Duff Thompson and Dean Johnson.

https://www.stephgreensongs.com/