Tyringham, MA (Top40 Charts/ Grit PR) Robert Oakes and Katherine Smith are a musical match made in heaven. The harmonious blend of their voices creates an ethereal sound and unique quality not often heard in today's popular music. This, combined with masterful songs that they call 'lyrical and inspirational meditations,' bring forth a sense of childlike wonder and express themes such as beauty, innocence and mystery. "First Flight," as a whole, represents Robert and Katherine's leap of faith into the unknown and captures the feeling of recording their first full album together.
Unlike their debut EP, "The School Session," which was mostly recorded live as a stripped down version of their act—just two voices, two guitars and a piano, "First Flight" is a fully produced album featuring a varied cast of players and a powerful, collaborative production team. Robert and Katherine started by recording at The Isokon Studio in Woodstock, NY where D.
James Goodwin (Kaki King, Devo, MTV) and Eli Walker engineered. Later, Jason Loughlin (Amos Lee, Rachael Yamagata, Lesley Gore) joined the project, helping with production, editing and playing electric guitar. The album was mixed by Oz Fritz, who, among many other accolades, worked on the Grammy award-winning album "Mule Variations" by Tom Waits. The album was mastered by Garrett Haines, who mastered a song on the Grammy-winning compilation album, "All About Bullies... Big and Small." Throughout the final phase of production, they were assisted by Jemal Wade Hines of the band HuDost.
First Flight, the title track, expresses the strongest theme on the record. It's about leaving your comfort zone and following your fate. They explain, "Just like a bird leaving the nest, if we are to have any hope of flying, we must take that leap of faith, though there is never a guarantee of success." Hold on to Your
Dream is a song about never giving in to the many forces in life that would cause you to question and abandon your innate impulse to dream big. Robert and Kate invited a chorus of friends to join them on the track, conveying that through the passionate pursuit of our dreams, others are inspired and want to join in as well. Oceans Apart highlights Katherine's vocals and features strong dynamics and an adventurous musical arrangement.
Oakes and Smith cite numerous musical influences as diverse as Van Morrison, Paul Simon,
Sinead O'Connor and The Cranberries. The common thread through all of them is that they are all strong and real performers with deep, flowing lyrics. They provide examples of great storytelling, strong vocal presence and the ability to connect with the audience, all qualities which Oakes and Smith possess. Fans of
The Swell Season (Glen Hansard), The Civil Wars, Cat Stevens, Joan Baez and
Joni Mitchell will truly appreciate the music on "First Flight."
At the heart of this project, Oakes and Smith discovered the strong bond between each other and the passion to create music and art. They hope to remind people through their music that love, joy and hope for the future are still very much alive in the world.
For additional information about Oakes and Smith, please visit www.oakesandsmith.net.
