Ever since Ashley Sykes started performing about 20 years ago, she’s had all kinds of different answers for the questions “Do you have a CD?” or “Ever thought about recording these songs?”
She pursued various recording options over the years, but just never found the right time or space to finish a project.
And now, the answer is yes; she has a full-length album to share with the world.
She met Corwin Fox, of Cumberland, last spring and they agreed that they could make a really honest, beautiful album together. They recorded 14 of her songs at his Hidden Well Studio.
They were joined by her friends and local musicians: Jordie Robinson, Julianne Duplissie, Jacob Gregory, Rachel Fuller, and Kelsey Epp Webber. Doug Cox also makes a special appearance on her song One Day at a Time. The end result is a very flavourful mix of songs that archive Sykes’s life stories of love, loss, faith, family, and self-reflection.
The album is called Dissonance. The title came from a discussion she had while visiting an old friend in Nashville last summer. They discussed living in the tension of the unresolved and also holding contrasting emotions or ideas at the same time.
The album release concert will be April 28 at the Little Red Church in Comox. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets (adults $20/youth $10) at the door or reserve your seat by emailing ashtreelife@gmail.com or RSVP on the Facebook event page.
You can hear a few songs from the album by visiting ashleysykes1.bandcamp.com. There will be CDs available that night for purchase, and the digital album will be available for download the following day.