13th Floor New Song Of The Day: Brendan & Alison Turner – Ghost Of A Friend

Auckland-based husband and wife duo Brendan & Alison Turner have just released the title track from their new album.

The album, and the song, is called Ghost Of A Friend. The LP will be released on March 29th, but the song is ready for you now. Here’s the record company blurb with more information and tour dates:

With rich harmonies reminiscent of misted Appalachian mountains, outstanding finger-style / bottle-neck guitar, songs of down-trodden cowboys, dusty hearts and heartbreak – Brendan & Alison Turner’s blues-driven country folk will appeal to fans of Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt and John Prine.

In a world of social media and digital dominion, the husband/wife duo have embraced the analog sound of the 60’s and 70’s with their acoustic, country-blues influenced album Ghost of a Friend, due for release on March 29th.

Today they unveil the title track to the album, an intimate, sparse and raw offering with lots of grit.

“There’s honesty in imperfection,” says Alison. “Songs stripped to the bone and performed live with nothing to hide behind. Two voices, one guitar. That’s it.”

“From the outset, we knew the character of sound we wanted for our music – cracked and dry, with dust on the strings.” adds Brendan. “The sound we heard could only exist on vinyl.”

Accordingly, the performances, track-listing, instrumentation and microphones were dictated by this choice of medium. Even the paper stock for the gatefold sleeve was subjected to similar rigorous consideration.

In keeping with their sonic quest, the pair enlisted Mandy Parnell (Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Bjork) at Black Saloon Studios in London for the mastering of the album. It was then pressed to audiophile grade, 180g vinyl at world-renowned pressing plant Pallas in Germany.

While the couple is ultimately excited to share the performances in any format, they are eager to get back on the road – with plenty of Brendan & Alison Turner LPs in tow.

Catch Brendan & Alison Turner on their Ghost of a Friend NZ Tour 2019: 

Saturday March 30 – Flying Out Instore Performance
Saturday March 30 – Wine Cellar, Auckland
Sunday March 31 – Leigh Sawmill, Leigh (afternoon show)
Wednesday April 3 – 4th Wall Theatre, New Plymouth
Thursday April 4 – Moon 1, Wellington
Friday April 5 – Mad Cafe, Collingwood
Saturday April 6 – Dharma Bums Club, Wairau Valley Marlborough
Sunday April 7 – Music & Arts Centre, Hanmer Springs
Thursday April 11 – Gin & Raspberry, Wanaka
Friday April 12 – Sherwood, Queenstown
Saturday April 13 – Dog With Two Tails, Dunedin
Sunday April 14 – Blue Smoke, Christchurch
Wednesday April 17 – The Playhouse Theatre and Restaurant, Mapua
Thursday April 18 – St Peter’s Hall, Paekakariki
Friday April 19 – Sitting Room Sessions, Haumoana
Saturday April 20 – Kumeu Live, Kumeu
Sunday April 21 – Piha Bowling Club
Thursday May 2 – Jam Factory, Tauranga
Friday May 3 – GBD, Thames