About In the Clay 

The album explores themes of life in change, and our deep love of the natural world, as we explore the massive transition from academia into our true passion in a life of music. From our end, it’s simple: we’ve put more of ourselves into this album than anything in our lives. More time, energy, effort, and of course, money.  

The album name comes from the title track "In the Clay," and the song name in turn comes from one of the song's line's: “You feel it in your shoulder blades // Up to your hips in the cold cold clay.” This emerged from a canoe trip we took together with a particularly adventurous friend of ours, armed with an out-of-date map torn from a book of canoe routes and not much more. At one point, we were carrying our canoes along a portage, and we came across a bog. We could see no way around, so we dragged our canoes through the mud, balancing on sunken logs. If you missed your step, you would sink up to your hips in the mud. It was very difficult and we moved very slowly, but it was so obviously ridiculous that the only thing to do was laugh. It’s humbling when nature messes up your day in such a simple way. It’s a reminder of the power it holds over us - it can slow us down whenever it wants. 

“You feel it in your shoulder blades // Up to your hips in the cold cold clay”.

 The Team

Yasmine Shelton: Lead Vocals, Flute 

Sam Clark: Acoustic Guitar, Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals 

Joshua Van Tassel: Drums, Percussion, Piano,  Electronics

Bret Higgins: Acoustic Bass, Keyboards 

Music and Lyrics by Sam Clark and Yasmine Shelton 

Recorded at Union Sound Company 

Additional recording at Dream Date Studio

Produced and mixed by Joshua van Tassel 

Engineered by Chris Stringer 

Assistant Engineer Darren McGill 

Mastered by Heather Kirby 

CD Cover and Design by Sarah Elise Bauman

T-Shirt Designs by Mary Kirkpatrick

Some Achievements so far!

Two of our Major goals going into this project were to be played on the CBC and to have some reviews written about the album and its songs. So far both of those goals have been achieved already; In August Change of Time was played on CBC Radio One: London and a number of music magazines have featured the new songs. Here are some nice things people have said about the songs we've released so far:

Ear to the Ground: " The Calming Acoustic Sentiment is captivating on this track. The vocal ushers in thought provoking lyrics. The folk harmonies, though, are what really won my heart over with this song. The duo remind me a little of the Milk Carton Kids blended with a Rawling Welch style as well. It's an outstanding sound [...] Close your eyes and listen; I bet these harmonies will give you chills." 

Roadie Music: "Uma épica jornada Sonora, te aguarda nas notas dessa doce canção, que embalará seus sentidos e trará uma pitada de nostalgia. Tudo muito simples e bom, como uma agradável tarde de sol no campo, aonde a paz reina e boa comida completa o quadro… desenhe essa sensação em sua mente, aperte o play." An epic sound journey awaits you in the notes of this sweet song, which will lull your senses and bring a hint of nostalgia. All very simple and good, like a pleasant sunny afternoon in the countryside, where peace reigns and good food completes the picture… draw that feeling in your mind, press play.

Glide Mag: "Expressive and raw performance from Basset."