VALLEYHEART/VINYLE BLANC/10EME ANNIVERSAIRE

Description

Justin Rutledge's fifth studio album, Valleyheart, was initially released by Outside Music on February 12, 2013. It won the JUNO Award for Roots/Traditional Album of the Year and the Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Album of the Year. Outside Music is proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Valleyheart with a limited edition pressed on Whitecap color vinyl. This is the first vinyl album of Valleyheart, having never been pressed on LP before. According to the original sales notes: The understated songwriter returns to his roots with a majestic collection of spacious songs featuring Rutledge's poetic lyrics. "I wanted to write songs as I look at old photographs," explains the singer. "Valleyheart is, at its core, an album about translating memory." The album is stripped down in its arrangements, and sometimes painfully slow. "At this stage of my career, I understand that my strength lies in writing songs that don't exceed the speed limit," jokes Rutledge. Valleyheart was recorded in Toronto with Rutledge's veteran band, featuring his best friend Bazil Donovan (Blue Rodeo) on bass, and mixed in Los Angeles by Dan Burns (Puscifer, Chuck Prophet). Rutledge is spending more and more time in California, writing and recording with his band, Early Winters. "Travel is a major theme of Valleyheart," explains Rutledge. "It may be my most 'Canadian' album to date, even though it is heavily influenced by California."