Coming back to his solo career after spending some time focussed on his band, Art of the Possible, Colin Fowlie has released a new EP: Harmony. For the duration of the three-song release, Fowlie takes a dark look at some of life’s more serious issues and may not be entirely for the faint of heart.
Following the February release of Passerby, the debut EP by Art of the Possible, Harmony comes as only the first in a series of three short solo EPs to be released by the end of 2018.
“Then, the songs will be assembled in the proper order, along with 3 previously-unreleased tracks, to form the final album in 2019,” says Fowlie.
The prolonged release is intended to gradually introduce listeners to new pieces of the puzzle that will eventually form a full and cohesive album. Fowling explains that it has the added benefits of making the content more digestible, while also driving reviewers nuts.
The EP was recorded and mixed by Jay Merrill at Marshall Studios and co-produced by Stephen Lewis and Fowlie himself. Each track also includes guest musicians: Piotr Wojtowicz on piano in “Taker,” Michelle Morrison on vocals in “Harmony” and Emilio Bonnell on lead guitar in “Running Over.”
Thematically, Harmony takes a few dark turns, which may also be indicative of what is to come with the next two EPs.
“Taker is based on a couple of true stories about that person in almost everyone’s life who lives a double-life. One side is the narcissistic filtered fake online image, and then there is the toxic human in real-life behind all of it,” continues Fowlie.
“Harmony was an accidental work of dark fiction that I wrote one night when I sat down in a tremendously good mood to write a song about joy or gratitude or something like that. Instead, my mind went to some strange places and that song flowed out and onto the paper/into the sound recorded in about 20 minutes.
“[…] Some of the topics in these songs are uncomfortable, and that trend will continue, but we’ve tried to add the right musical layers to help ease the discomfort but keep it interesting.”
With Michelle Morrison singing as the track’s namesake female character, “Harmony” takes listeners on a journey through a night filled with regret with a play-by-play of the events.
Following it, “Running Over” follows the narrative of “Harmony” but eases listeners will a more calm energy after the dark spiral of the track before.
Short and sweet (although somewhat dark), Harmony puts an emphasis on some blues rock storytelling, but really gets rounded out by the refreshing clarity of Fowlie’s vocals. We’re waiting for the plot twist on the two follow-up release.