Submitted photoHalifax-based singer-songwriter Thom Swift performs Thursday night at the Cape Breton Fudge Company in Sydney. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.
SYDNEY — Thom Swift had a dream set of circumstances when he set about writing and recording his latest album.
The Halifax-based singer-songwriter and musician was able to devote plenty of time to both aspects of creating his third solo recording.
“I was pretty lucky. I took two months to write it,” he said. “I took the RV every day and just drove 20 minutes to a half-hour outside of the city and parked somewhere beautiful and spent the day writing every day for two months so that made a difference in the overall end result because it seemed more cohesive to me, more together, made more sense.”
When he had finished writing for the album, Swift had a generous offer from local Fortress Studio owner Miles Gallagher.
“He approached me and just said ‘I want you to do your album in my studio and I don’t want you to worry about time. Take as much time as you want,’” said Swift, noting the recording process lasted approximately two months. “Having two months in the studio is almost unheard of. Most people do an album in a week or four days and as quickly possible, but two months was really nice because I could go back and revisit things over a period of time.”
The result of that time and effort is “The Fortunate Few,” his newest album, which was released March 5. Produced by Swift, the CD includes 10 tracks and features acclaimed musicians Kevin Breit, Geoff Arsenault, Brian Bourne, Scott Marshall, Mike Stevens and Bill Stevenson.
“They’re all master players, 40-year pros, so it’s a thrill to have them play your music,” he said.
Swift will be promoting his latest release when he heads to Cape Breton this Thursday night for a performance at the Cape Breton Fudge Company in Sydney at 7:30 p.m.
“A live show for me is about communicating with people so I’m hoping that it’ll be a nice, intimate setting where I can do my thing in front of people,” said Swift.
In addition to his latest album, the roots-blues-folk musician has two other solo recordings to his credit — 2007’s “Into The Dirt,” and “Blue Sky Day,” released in 2010 — as well as a collaborative children’s recording titled “The Wood Buffalo Youth Song Project.”
Prior to his solo career, Swift played with blues-folk trio Hot Toddy for 13 years, but he said the transition to focusing on his own music was a natural one.
“When we (in Hot Toddy) decided to not do what we were doing anymore, it was a no-brainer for me to just go out on my own and in some ways initially it was a little scary, but I’ve fallen into it and I’ve embraced it in a big way,” he said. “So I’m loving it now. It seems to have worked out pretty good.”
Swift has performed at many folk and blues festivals throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. He also performed shows at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, co-headlined a sold-out show with Symphony Nova Scotia and represented Atlantic Canada at the 2013 International Blues Summit in Memphis, TN.
This summer Swift has a number of high-profile gigs including a performance at the Halifax Jazz Festival. He will also join Roseanne Cash as her special guest during a three-date tour of the Maritimes in July.
Tickets to Swift’s show in Sydney are $20 in advance and at the door and are available at the Cape Breton Fudge Company at 15 Prince St., by calling 539-9930, and online at www.capebretonfudgeco.com.
“I’m really looking forward to coming to Sydney. I have a lot of friends that are there that I’ve known through the industry so I’m really looking forward to seeing them,” said Swift.
For more information on Swift visit his website at thomswift.com. He also has Facebook and Twitter pages.
ljgrant@cbpost.com
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