Wolfe Island, Ontario – June 4, 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 for the 2nd Annual Wolfe Island Garden Party June 14 – 17.
Sponsored by Wolfe Island Records and Wolfe Island Spring Craft Brewery, the four-day event features music from the label, along with lively discussions and events to deepen appreciation for nature, celebrate the island’s agriculturalists and raise awareness about the future of food. Weekend passes are a mere $20, available at many local businesses, and all proceeds will go to benefit the Wolfe Island Community Garden.
One River will perform on Friday June 15 at 6:30pm at a wine & cheese reception at the Wolfe Island Gallery. Michael Quattrone will debut songs that speak to his spirituality, sparked at the threshold between inner life and outward expression. His set features drummer Jack Algiere who will give an agricultural talk, called, “Rhythm of the Garden” during the reception. Jack is the farm director at Stone Barns Center, in Pocantico Hills, New York.
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.
Wolfe Island Records’ founder, Hugh Christopher Brown will bring the likes of David Corley, Suzanne Jarvie, The Stephen Stanley Band, Jenny Whiteley, Joey Wright, Luther Wright, and himself to perform at multiple stages, on top of presenting two CD Release shows for debut records from newcomers Hadley McCall Thackston and One River. All of the above-mentioned artists created albums that were recorded in Brown’s old Post Office Studio on Wolfe Island. For info on all the Wolfe Island Garden Party festivities, please go to need link.