Photo Credit: Beth Girdler.
Acclaimed folk singer-songwriter David Francey has released his
highly anticipated album, The Breath Between on September 15th. This poignant
collection of songs marks his first release in five years, capturing the essence of life's
fleeting moments with introspection and intimacy.
The album is a poignant yet beautiful reminder of the passage of time, or as David
describes it in the title track, “the breath between the here and gone”. It is introspective
and intimate.
Although David has covered the themes of love and loss before, this album does so in a
nostalgic and touching way, capturing a particularly reflective period in his life. Fans of
“Come Rain or Come Shine” will be delighted by David’s new song, “One Day”, which
depicts a memory from the start of his relationship with his wife, Beth, and features
backing vocals and guitar by their son, Colin. More than twenty years later, he is still
inspired by the same love.
“I Called it Love” travels even further back, reminiscing about a wholesome childhood
love that will have any listener smiling and picturing their own innocent childhood crush,
even if names have long been forgotten.
Among the most affecting of David’s new songs are the ones about the opposite end of
life. In “Offering”, David describes a final visit to a hospital to say goodbye to a close
friend in bleak but beautiful detail, perfectly capturing the deep hurt of a life changing
loss over simple piano and rich cello.
In “This Morning”, David covers the loss of a great inspiration to many, John Prine. Prine
fans will enjoy how the song cleverly samples Prine’s “That’s the Way the World Goes
Round”.
David’s outstanding lyrics are highlighted by gentle piano and backing vocals from Terra
Spencer. Terra also features in a duet on one of the standout tracks of the album,
“Narrow Boats”. In this song, David and Terra softly sing the basic premise of the album;
“It won’t be long / sunny or cloudy skies / river will always rise / hearts always mend”.
The Breath Between was recorded at This Old Church studio in southern Quebec. The
musicians on this album come from every era of David’s musical career. They include
members of his late 90s band, Dave Clarke and Geoff Sommers, long-time collaborators
Darrin McMullen and Mark Westberg, and of course, new collaborator, Terra Spencer.
The album also features contributions from the members of Vishten, including the late
Pastelle LeBlanc.
David Francey's legacy of genuine, soul-stirring folk music is set to resound once again. The
album will be available on all streaming platforms.
"In a time of uncertainty, we managed to pull together a nice body of work which
created much joy in the making." - David Francey
TOUR DATES - ONTARIO
October 6 - Isabel Bader Centre - Kingston, ON
October 11 - Revival Bar - Toronto, ON
October 12 - Refined Fool Brewing Co. - Sarnia, ON
October 13 - Princess Cinemas - Waterloo, ON
October 14 - Playhouse Cinema - Hamilton, ON
October 20 - Red Bird - Ottawa, ON
October 21 - Red Bird Live - Ottawa, ON [SOLD OUT]
Folk music is often described as “the people’s music,” and nobody comes by that label
more honestly than David Francey. David spent the first 25 or so years of adulthood
working in rail yards, construction sites, and bush camps across Canada, distilling his
observations of working life into plain spoken poetry that he set to music in his head as
he worked.
A proud member of the working class, he never intended to earn money from his music
and resisted performing until the age of 45 when he finally succumbed to pressure from
friends and family. He was as close to an overnight sensation as a folk singer can get,
earning prestigious performance offers from across the continent. But David remained
wary of music industry artifice and famously only quit his day job after winning his first
Juno – for his sophomore album, Far End of Summer.
Since then, he has risen to the top of the global folk scene entirely on his own terms –
his humour, humility, open-heartedness, and slice-of-life storytelling making him a
favourite on folk club and festival stages and winning over fans such as Hockey Night in
Canada host, Ron MacLean.
He’s won a total of three Junos, topped the Penguin Eggs magazine critic’s poll three
times, and had songs featured on both Hockey Day in Canada and Hockey Night in
Canada. His songs have been covered by numerous artists, including the Del McCoury
Band, The Travellin’ McCourys, The Trews, Raylene Rankin, Tracy Grammer Matt
Anderson and James Keelaghan.
Born in Ayrshire, Scotland to parents who were factory workers, he moved to Canada
with his family at the age of 12 and developed his love of singing while exploring the
country with them on road trips. His lifelong devotion to his working class roots was
captured in the documentary film Burning Bright, which was broadcast nationally on the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Documentary Channel.
FOLLOW DAVID FRANCEY