Canadian folk singer Tom Terrell for Monroe’s gig

Tom Terrell, a Canadian folk singer with serious writing chops, plays Monroe’s Live this Sunday, November 2.  He has just released his latest, self-titled album which he recorded just outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“It was done at a place called Echo Lake recording studio, with an engineer named Daniel Ledwell,” Tom says. “It’s a beautiful studio in the woods overlooking the lake.”

Did the serene setting have an effect on the sound of the album?

“Yes, I think so,” he says. “The last few albums I had done were in really nice studios, but they were right in the city, where there’s a little more sense of time constraint. This room had a little more life to it.

“We did all the mixing and editing up there too,” Tom adds. “I definitely think the landscape had a bit to do with how it turned out, for sure.

“I did the sessions over a couple of months, so I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to happen next,” he says. “Then I waited almost a month before I mixed it, all the musicians were really great to work with – it was definitely an easy recording.”

Terrell’s work brings to mind the songs of John Prine, whose hits include The Speed of the Sound Of Loneliness. Is Terrell a fan of the acclaimed American songwriter?

“I’ve definitely heard that before,” he says. “It wasn’t until I got into John Prine myself that I remember my dad playing him when I was a kid. He was always telling me to listen to the stories, and I remember not caring much.

But Prine is a name you hear many folk and Americana songwriters cite as an influence. Less common is Ludwig van Beethoven, yet the composer is a major inspiration for Tom Terrell.

For more, see this week’s Connacht Tribune