East Coast Kitchen Party

MUSIC

Joel Plaskett Talks About His New Album

Halifax – June 12 – 2011 - Joel Plaskett releases the solo-career spanning collection of rarities, EMERGENCYs, false alarms, shipwrecks, castaways, fragile creatures, special features, demons and demonstrations on Tuesday, June 14 via New Scotland Records.

He spoke with East Coast Kitchen Party and says releasing the album on his own record label is particularly pleasing, “It’s really cool to be able to do this, but I’m still happy with my regular record company, Maple Music.” He says a lot of the music he is releasing on this album, “never got the attention they should have.”

No one has ever accused Joel of resting on his laurels. Since releasing his critically-acclaimed and award-winning 2009 triple album, Three, Joel has toured across Canada and throughout the UK, established his own record label, New Scotland Records, reunited with his Thrush Hermit compatriots, compiled an eight-disc Thrush Hermit box set, and produced three full-length records and seven singles for other artists – all while preparing material for a forthcoming record slated for release this fall.

Now, as a special treat to his fans, Joel has taken on yet another project while the new record is in the works: a collection of demos, outtakes, rarities and B-sides from over a decade of music-making, giddily titled EMERGENCYs, false alarms, shipwrecks, castaways, fragile creatures, special features, demons and demonstrations. Boasting twenty tracks culled from dozens of unreleased or rare recordings, EMERGENCYs... is a fascinating slice of Plaskett’s history, from his earliest days with the Emergency (three songs from 2001’s Down at the Khyber are featured in demo form) to his latest trips into the studio to cut Three.

Joel says he has fantastic people helping him at New Scotland Records and this album is a way to “clean house before we release new material.” He’s also at the forefront in Atlantic Canada in bringing back vinyl albums. The old format keeps winning new fans and Joel believes “people might collect music again.”

Fans will get the chance to hear classic tunes as they were originally recorded (see the sublime take on “Clueless Wonder”), B-sides they may have missed the first time around (the Emergency’s outstanding run through Irma Thomas’ “Hurt’s All Gone”), and non-album outtakes recorded everywhere from Joel’s Nova Scotian studio to the legendary Abbey Road in London (“On the Rails,” “When I Go,” featuring Ana Egge and Peter Elkas). The result is everything Joel’s fans have come to expect from his releases: fresh, unconventional and giddily diverse – a whirlwind look back at where he has been, and perhaps a hint of where he may be going.

EMERGENCYs... will be available through digital download, and on a 12-track vinyl LP that comes paired with a CD containing the full vinyl record plus 8 bonus tracks. The complete package, Joel’s first exclusive release on his own New Scotland Records, can be found at independent fine record retailers across Canada – and meanwhile, stay tuned for updates on the new album!