Rose Cousins

Rose Cousins finds insight in solitude and strength in numbers. Supported by a thriving Halifax music scene and welcomed by an equally vibrant Boston community, her new album We Have Made A Spark was made in the spirit of community and collaboration.

We Have Made A Spark follows Cousins’ two multi-award-winning albums The Send Off (2009) produced by Luke Doucet and If You Were For Me (2006) produced by CBC in Halifax. Yet another collection of stunning songs by Rose Cousins, her third album braves weighty topics.

“We develop patterns that keep us from moving forward. It takes a deep breath and a bucket of courage to face the uncomfortable, painful things we work so hard to avoid. Reward comes from recognizing the obstacle exists and pushing through fear.”

Rooted in authenticity and conviction of voice, from driving opening track The Darkness to stark piano ballad Go First, you feel as though Rose Cousins sings for you, about your life. It is that sincerity that leads some to compare Cousins to our most beloved songwriters, and yet, her passionate delivery is distinctly, Rose. From writing songs from a tiny cabin without electricity on a New Hampshire island (All The Stars, The Shell) to the stage of one her many international tour stops her lone voice reaches out to listeners, all of us surrounded by our own forms of darkness, and charges us to have the courage to forge ahead.

It’s not surprising that Boston performers were quick to adopt Cousins when she started traveling there 8 years ago. To make We Have Made A Spark, she gathered her friends and collaborators Zachariah Hickman (producer) and Austin Nevins (who both play in Josh Ritter’s Royal City Band), songwritersRose Polenzani, Kris Delmhorst, Mark Erelli, Jennifer Kimball, Laura Cortese, Amy Correia, Ana Egge, Edie Carey, members of Session Americana Billy Beard & Dinty Child, and multi-instrumentalistsSean Staples and Charlie Rose together to make the record at well-known American studio (Q Division) used by James Taylor, Aimee Mann, Patty Griffin. Along with new music comes a short film called If I Should Fall Behind, about the heart of the community where the record was made.

Canadian collaborations have included recording and touring with Joel Plaskett on his multi-Juno-winning album Three and recording A New Kind Of Light, a Christmas CD, with label-mate Jill Barberand 2011 Juno New Artist of the Year, Meaghan Smith. Cousins’ herself recently took home 2011 East Coast Music Awards for Female Solo Recording and Songwriter of the Year.

Cousins is releasing We Have Made A Spark on Outside Music in Canada and independently on her own label Old Farm Pony Records in the rest of the world. US and Canada release date February 28, European release is planned for May 2012. The Outside Music Label is a Toronto based independent record label that launched in 2001. Other artists on the label include Sloan, Little Scream, The Sadies, The Besnard Lakes, Black Mountain, Jill Barber, One Hundred Dollars, Oh Susanna, Matthew Barber and Sunparlour Players. Outside Music is also one of Canada’s most respected distributors with Sub Pop, Saddle Creek, Domino, Fat Cat amongst it’s distributed labels. For more information visit www.outside-music.com 

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