With the October, 18, 2011 release of Sing In My Meadow, Cowboy Junkies continue an ambitious schedule of four releases over an 18 month period, collectively titled “The Nomad Series.” The latest collection of songs, follows the critically acclaimed Renmin Park (2010) and Demons (2011). Renmin Park was inspired by Timmins’ two-month stay in China and was called “their most ambitious yet” by The Boston Herald. Demons is a collection of songs by the late Vic Chesnutt which NPR called “…a loving tribute.”Sing In My Meadow was recorded over a four- day period in 2011. The band’s Michael Timmins describes it as “an album that references an aspect of our live performances that we don’t dig into very much in our studio recordings. We wanted the album to revolve around those psychedelic, blues-inspired forays we are so fond of exploring on stage. We approached the songs all live-off-the-floor: nasty and dirty and disturbing the cold winter’s nights’ peace. We tried to channel Miles at the Isle of Wight, deep in his Bitches Brew phase; Captain Beefheart and his Mirror Man psychoses; The Birthday Party live at the Electric Ballroom circa 1981 (Margo, Al and I were in that audience); Neil and Crazy Horse in the back room at SIR….overdriven and thick with electricity.”
After all four volumes are released, plans call for a book that will delve into the character, nature, and inspiration behind each of the albums. It will be published by Whale and Star, the publishing house of the band’s friend Enrique Martinez Celaya, a Cuban-American artist whose “Nomad” paintings helped inspire the series.
