Great and Small

Seamus and Kari met and connected musically in Dingle, Ireland, this past April (2012) at a tiny pub where Seamus was gigging and Kari was on a songwriting sabbatical. They arranged to meet 10 days later in London to give co-writing a long shot. Seamus booked a rehearsal studio in central London and they met for 3 hours on a Monday afternoon. Drawing on a guitar hook Seamus had been tossing around, and lyrics Kari had hastily written just 4 days earlier in Malta, they crafted their first song together; St. Venere came together in just 40 minutes. Not quite sure how to react, they agreed to meet again the next morning to try again, and wrote another song in less than an hour. With the certain, surreal knowledge that this was something rare, and realizing that this was very much worth pursuing, Kari immediately booked a flight returning to the UK just 6 weeks later. They secluded themselves in a 300 square foot cottage in the Yorkshire Dales for 6 days and wrote 9 more complete songs, along with several melodic late-night hooks and new ideas. Seamus booked a flight to Seattle to record just 2 months later.

Produced by Jonathan Plum in Seattle's iconic London Bridge Studio (Pearl Jam's Ten was recorded here, along with albums for Temple of the Dog, Alice in Chains, Mother Love Bone and Blind Melon), Seamus and Kari recorded a 6-song EP in 4 days in September, 2012. Guest performances by members of Fleet Foxes and Modest Mouse rounded out the spontaneously crafted studio musician lineup.

Mixed by Rob Whiteley in Liverpool, the songs have come to life... what was just an inkling in April is now reality.