The last two years have been big ones for Newfoundland duo Quote the Raven. The pair won Music Newfoundland’s 2019 Group of the Year Award, were nominated for Rising Star Recording of the Year by the ECMA, performed at the Americana Fest in Nashville along with multiple tours from Newfoundland to Ontario and a whole lot more. So 2020 probably came as a shock to their systems; the crash at the end of a major high. Their newest single, “Hope”, is a reflection of that and the highs and lows that come from working in the music industry.
The single also reflects the Americana spin the band picked up while travelling to Nashville, though the pair note that they’ve kept true to their Eastern Canadian roots. They also share writing credits with both Newfoundland performer, producer and writer Peter MacDonald and songwriter and soul-squire Chris Kirby, while nodding off influences from Joy Williams, Brandi Carlile and The Milk Carton Kids.
While touring comes with challenges even during the best of times, with weeks on the road, often distanced from friends and family, Quote the Raven drives home the point that “no matter where in the world one might find themselves, as long as you support one another, you’ll always mentally be with your family and friends.”
“While touring Canada, we saw the changes in the lives of our friends back home and realized that our lives don’t really look the same,” explains Quote the Raven’s Jordan Coaker and Kirsten Rodden-Clarke. “It was in that moment when we realized how lasting relationships and friendships still remain as long as we’ve got one another’s backs. No matter where life takes us all we can do is hope for the support from our loved ones and ensure we are still there for them, even if it’s thousands of kilometres away.”
Of course, like most bands right now, Quote the Raven find themselves safely at home in St. John’s, NL and worked with Centre City Media and Film Production (consisting of Stephen Green and Brad Tuck of Fairgale) to shoot their video in nearby Pippy Park.
“This video is the first part of a multitude of videos we’re working on leading up to the release of our next album!” says the duo. “It was a lot of fun getting to work alongside Stephen and Brad in a different capacity than just the performance and writing side of music. It’s also the first time in a long time that we’ve had the ability and time to make a new creative music video.”
Quote the Raven note that they currently have a new album that is in the works, and that it’ll be a fine example of the new direction they’ve taken in Americana Folk.