Madviolet - November/December 2006
Who: Madviolet
What: a beautiful blend
Where: Toronto
To Contact: www.madviolet.com; www.myspace.com/madvioletmusic; publicist: James Monaco 416-686-3395 or
Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac, the dulcet duo known as Madviolet, crossed the pond to England to work again with friend John Reynolds (Sinead O’Connor, U2), who produced their 2004 debut album, Worry The Jury. It was Reynolds who actually suggested the two form the group in the first place in 2001. Recorded at London’s Ghostrooms, Caravan is a beautifully-sounding album full of the singer-songwriting team’s wonderful narratives and imagery. Both play guitar and MacIsaac, like brother Ashley, plays fiddle. Providing the rhythm section on the recording are Reynolds on drums and Claire Kenny (Indigo Girls, Damien Dempsey) on bass, and then various guests are brought in to add certain colour here and there - lap steel guitar by Simon Alpin (Teenage Fanclub), dobro by Fiachna Braonain (Hothouse Flowers, Michelle Shocked) and classical guitar and banjo by Hugh Segat - never once detracting from the girls’ voices or lyrics. The appeal of Madviolet’s mellifluous blend of folk, country and pop has taken the pair on tour to Australia, Fiji, Denmark, Switzerland, Grenada and the U.K. They wrote many of the songs on Caravan in Byron Bay, Australia, in the spring of 2005 with the Pacific Ocean at their feet.