Theresa Sokyrka - Prairie Winds - Review!

Saskatchewan’s Theresa Sokyrka had a very unique approach to the recording of her fourth studio album.  While visiting Madrid, Spain, Theresa met up with pianist Sebastian Gosnell and the two ventured to performances around the city in search of ‘great’ musicians to recruit for a new album. They successfully found a rhythm section consisting of drummer Daniel Garcia Bruno and upright bass player Reinier Elizarde el Negrón. Together, they went to Casa Limon studio in Madrid and recorded this great new album called Prairie Winds.  

 

This is a beautiful sounding album with Theresa’s vocals nice and loud up front, a crystal clear sounding guitar, and great jazzy rhythm. I particularly love the rattle of the drums brushes almost always present in the background as well as the sound of the scraping of the guitar strings when she slides her fingers up and down the neck. It makes it sound so real, cozy, and personal. Oh, and the whistling on Prize to You sounds so great that I’d have sworn it was that cartoon bird on Cinderella stopping by the studio for a visit! 

Theresa self-produced Prairie Winds with the goal of not heavily relying on technology for sound. She approached the production as if all the sound depended on a good live studio mix and great performances from the band. Basically, she aimed to make it sound right the first time. She did an incredible job producing and I can’t see any reason why she shouldn’t pursue this role on future albums.

This is my first introduction to Theresa Sokyrka and I was pleasantly surprised. Great folksy songs sung by a gorgeous voice, all while giving it that quiet coffee shop music sound. After discovering this album, I began researching Theresa for this review. I was surprised to discover that Theresa was a finalist on the second season of Canadian Idol in 2004. Personally, I have never been a fan of these competitive singing shows (hence why I never knew she was a contestant) even though I think that they are a great way to gain interest in music, and heavily responsible for many album sales. My problem is that most of the music doesn’t cater to my personal taste since I don’t like new poppy, fabricated music. So, this was a huge surprise to me discovering that she had made it to the finals. Apparently she had a clear road ahead for a successful pop music career, but instead took the long road and pursued a career in folk rock... lucky us!

Prairie Winds hit the shelves on June 4th and you can order copies on her website www.theresasokyrka.ca and also find it on iTunes. Theresa is also in the middle of a cross Canadian tour and will be passing through the Maritimes next week including a show at Plan B in Moncton on June 12th.