I know that artists sometimes hate comparisons but when I first heard Joshua Hyslop I thought of Damien Rice. They both write beautiful, heartfelt songs that seemed to be based in deep introspection. Then when Hyslop showed up at the studio with a cellist and violinist I thought, yeah that is something Damien Rice would do for sure.
The cool thing about this Up Close session is that Hyslop had just met his fellow musicians just hours before the session. His label had hired a cellist and violinist to back Hyslop for the session and a quick rehearsal was organized in his hotel room the night before the session.
I'm not sure if Hyslop fully understood how lucky he got with the choice of musicians. The cellist was John Marshman, one of the most called upon cellists in Canada. His pop music credits include, Owen Pallett, Jill Barber and Bruce Cockburn and his list of credentials in the classical field is endless. The violinist was Anne Lindsay who may be best known for her work with Jim Cuddy but also has a resume that includes performances with Led Zeppelin and Roger Daltry.
Together the three musicians pulled together these three great renditions of songs from Joshua's EP Cold Wind.
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