Captured In Still Life is the quietly stunning debut album by Kensington Prairie. Built around the effortlessly melodic songs and voice of Rebecca Rowan (singer/songwriter of Vancouver’s indie pop darlings, Maplewood Lane), it is a collection of songs to soften even the thickest of skins. With songs accumulating that weren’t fitting in to her band’s more electric pop-rock direction, she headed into the studio and give them a life of their own in the form of this beautifully written gentle pop album.
Beauty, joy and sorrow weave through the album, beginning with the grand harmonies of the opening track, Time on Our Side. The sound is warm and enveloping, at once familiar and yet still a further evolution in songcraft and production. This time the songs feature a more orchestral tapestry of instruments and sounds: strings swell and vibes quiver, mandolins and acoustic guitars mix with vintage rhodes and mellotron and cast a sepia tinged hue across songs like A Million Skies, Letter That I Sent and Dissappear from View. Front and center is the wonderfully tender voice of Rebecca and the inward looking themes that explore the days past, the winding road, the places where we find ourselves now and quiet moments of loneliness. There is an attention to the details and the recording is filled with many subtle sonic flourishes: bells twinkle across the speakers, dusty banjos and abadoned pianos intertwine while tiny percussion sways and organs gurgle deep below. As the last track (Dissappear From View) fades into the distance, it is the songs that will stick with you - their emotion and melodic pull lingering on.
Over the course of 13 months and in various bits and pieces, the album was recorded and took on shape. Rebecca brought in her melodies and lyrics full of longing and nostalgia and cast them into various shapes and colors with producer Jonathan Anderson (JonathanInc. / Radiogram / In Medias Res) at his Buena Vista Audio studio. The two played the bulk of the instruments and along the way some others new friends, and a few older collaborators, dropped by to make musical contributions. Captured In Still Life was mastered by Noah Mintz in Toronto (Broken Social Scene/Hayden/the Dears).
HISTORY - Rebecca Rowan began her musical endeavors as the forming member of Maplewood Lane in 1999 with her sibling Joel and her husband-to-be, Nate. A few years later she added a couple friends and the five of them went on to record 2 full length albums and 2 ep’s. Maplewood Lane licensed a large majority of their songs to film and television. Their songs appeared in Radio Free Roscoe, The Dark Oracle, Life with Derek, Degrassi High the Next Generation, and Atom Egoyin’s “Sabah”. They were featured in the soundtrack of Radio Free Roscoe and appeared in Top 30 College Radio Charts across Canada and the U.S. MWL has performed shows ranging from local concerts to music festivals such as NXNE (Toronto), New Music West (Vancouver), Woodsong Festival (Orcas Island), and Tomfest (Portland).
In the Fall of 2006, Rebecca began to work on a solo-project, which developed into Kensington Prairie’s Captured In Still Life. KP has quickly followed in MWL’s footsteps, by already licensing two songs, A Million Skies and Disappear from View, to the CBC’s brand new prime-time show Heartland, before the album has been released.
FUTURE - Kensington Prairie plan to support the album through extensive performances locally and abroad. They will continue to pursue the possibilities of publishing and licensing to broaden their exposure through film and television audiences.
Tour Dates
April 19 - Abbotsford, BC @ House Of James
May 2 - Vancouver, BC @ The Media Club (CD Release Show)
July 17 - Orcas Island, Washington @ Woodsong Music Festival
