Wolfe Island, Ontario – April 12, 2018 – One River, the musical project of noted New York City area retreat leader, poet, and musician Michael Quattrone, will be joining his fellow Wolfe Island Records artists on a short Ontario tour anchored around the popular annual Canadian Music Week Wolfe Island Records showcase gig on May 9 at favorite Toronto roots music club Dakota Tavern.
One River is an image of our interconnectedness across space and time. Our ancestors flowed into us, and life will continue the motion beyond our days on the planet. “Spirit is the river, and body the boat.”
With a name taken from noted anthropologist Wade Davis’ book, One River was founded by Michael Quattrone as a musical outgrowth of his work with Hearthfire, a non-profit retreat center founded with his wife, ritual theatre artist, Kala Iversen, in Tarrytown, New York. Hearthfire encourages the myth-making potential of creative spirits by offering rituals and retreats to a diverse community of artists, leaders, and seekers. “Magic happens when we gather in a circle to mark life’s passages with song,” says Michael. “And sometimes you invite a record producer, who brings a magic of his own.”
Michael is a singer, songwriter, and seeker, whose greatest curiosity and most profound learning are sparked at the threshold between inner life and outward expression. In honoring his journey in music and poetry, and in sharing his passion for the creative process, Michael encourages others to raise their voices, express gratitude, and live in harmony.
The eponymous, debut album includes ten original songs by Michael. It was produced by Hugh Christopher Brown and Michael Quattrone for Chris’s independent, artist-driven label, Wolfe Island Records. The idea for the record emerged after Michael invited the Canadian producer and multi-instrumentalist to collaborate on music for a retreat, and join a men’s group, at Hearthfire.
The two-and-a-half year recording process that followed straddled the US/Canada border, the 2016 national election, and the Atlantic Ocean. Hugh Christopher says, “The first time I heard Michael’s voice, I was knocked out. Having benefited from his talents in spiritual and social practice, his songwriting feels to me like plaintive, literal extensions of his soul. It has been a trip translating it all to tape.”
Contributing to the album are longtime friends of Hearthfire and its intersecting communities, including Kala Iversen and Ashley Wood of Hearthfire; Jack Algiere of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture; Joseph Jastrab of the Hero’s Journey Foundation, and author of Sacred Manhood, Sacred Earth; as well as veteran musicians: Tony Scherr (Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Kate Fenner), Gregor Beresford (Steven Stanley Band), Hugh Christopher Brown (Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Pros and Cons project). Other notable appearances include Jane Scarpantoni (Lou Reed, Patti Smith), Rocky Roberts (singer-songwriter, guitar tech for Neil Young), and Michael Blake (Lounge Lizards, Ray Lamontagne).
The record is ripe for release at this moment of cultural, socio-economic, and ecological upheaval, which demands the fullest presence of all of us to the outer- and inner- transformations underway.
Joining Michael on this Wolfe Island Records road trip will label head Hugh Christopher Brown, and labelmates Kate Fenner. Hadley McCall Thackston, Suzanne Jarvie, Stephen Stanley Band, and David Corley. The tour dates are:
| Monday May 7 | Hamilton, Ontario | The Casbah |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday May 9 | Toronto, Ontario | Dakota Tavern |
| Thursday May 10 | Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario | The Starlight |