Words and music by Mike Evin
Produced by Howie Beck
***
Vocals & piano: Mike Evin
Upright bass: Dennis Mohammed
Flugelhorn & french horn: Bryden Baird
Saxophone & flute: Liam O'Neill
***
Recorded by Stephen Koszler at Revolution Recording, Toronto
Assistant engineering by Jack Clow and Tyler Weston
Mixed by Howie Beck at Studio H, Toronto
Mastered by Joao Carvalho

If I Stay This Lonely

Available at CDBaby and iTunes on MARCH 2, 2015.

PERSONNEL & CREDITS:

Bill McBirnie – flute, alto flute (tracks 3 & 14) & piccolo (track 9)
Bruce Jones – guitar, vocal, percussion & synths
Produced by – Bill McBirnie & Bruce Jones
Recorded at – Da Da Music, Toronto, Ontario
Engineered by – Bruce Jones
Edited & Mixed by – Bill McBirnie & Bruce Jones 
Mastered by – Pacy Shulman at Hilo Studio, Toronto, Ontario
Cover Photo by – Gongbass
Layout, Design & Manufacturing by – Staci Patten, Accurate Audio, Toronto, Ontario

Bill plays a Wm. S. Haynes flute, a DynaLance headjoint (made by Guo Musical Instrument Co.), an Armstrong alto flute and a Gemeinhardt piccolo.

LINER NOTES:

Bruce Jones and I first collaborated about 15 years ago on my debut album, Desvio  (which was subsequently nominated for a Toronto Independent Music Award).  This initial recording project came about as a consequence of working regularly with Bruce's Brazilian rock band, Da, and as a further consequence of dressing tracks for Bruce on his various Da, Amazon Dreams and other recording projects.  After a while, I had done so much work with Bruce (whose songwriting I always admired) that I suggested to him, “Maybe we should try and do a flute-oriented project.”  To my surprise, Bruce was more than happy to oblige and that suggestion evolved into our first album, Desvio, which he dubbed “extrema flauta” (and which we anglicized as “Extreme Flute”).

Our musical paths diverged thereafter but, about a year ago, Bruce asked me to do some dressing for a couple of tracks he was working on.  This went really well and, in the course of doing so, I learned that Bruce had a lot of material in various stages of completion on his hard drive.  Once again, I suggested to him, “Maybe we should extend ourselves and do another flute-oriented project.”  Yet again, Bruce was happy to oblige and Grain of Sand is the result.  As fate would have it, this project has evolved into another incarnation of Extreme Flute!

Bruce is—and always has been—enormously talented, on multiple dimensions.  Musically, what he does is ostensibly Brazilian (in no small measure because he was raised in Brazil).  However, he combines that rich musical heritage with many other influences, ranging from rock & roll and hip-hop to new age.  For me, the big draw in working with Bruce has always been both the diversity of his material and his openness to improvisation (which is what I like to do most of all).  These features of his work have always provided us with a solid basis for collaboration—both then and now.

A project of this nature—involving just the two of us—takes considerable time to complete and so it inevitably proceeds in stages.  Each track starts with Bruce writing, playing and recording whatever idea he has in mind.  After Bruce has laid down what is often a fairly complete track, we then overlay any flute melodies he has in mind.  In addition, we conjure up shots and harmony parts and overdub these.  After that, we go back and I improvise over the entire track.  Finally, we take whatever we have (...which is typically far too much...) edit it and mix it down.  Of course, we “subtract” far more than we “add” as the process unfolds until sooner or later (...usually later...) we find what we're after.

The end result of this most recent collaboration, Grain of Sand, is both a fitting theme and title, because there always has been—and there always will be—a lot more from wherever this came.
						
Finally, Bruce and I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Canada's premier jazz station, Jazz.FM91, for including “Tudo Bem” (a track from our first collaboration, Desvio) in their spin cycle for what is now close to 15 years!

Bill McBirnie


01 Grain Of Sand (Grao De Areia)

Instrumental version of "Have I Ever Loved?" from the album Life As A Lover

Produced and mixed by Howie Beck
Music by Mike Evin

Mike Evin: piano, synth bass, electric piano, synths, handclaps
Howie Beck: drums, electric guitar, percussion, handclaps
Stephen Koszler: engineering, handclaps

Mastered by Joao Carvalho

Have I Ever Loved? (instrumental)

Written and Recorded by: Matt Millz and Nygel Asselin 
Produced, Engineered and Mixed by: Nygel Asselin 
Mastered by: Jeff Dalziel 
Artwork by: Matt Millz

www.mattmillz.com 
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www.nygproductions.com 
www.facebook.com/nygsongs
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www.dieselmusicofficial.com

Matt Millz - Cave

‘Never lose the romance’  - it’s a lyric from Mike Evin’s new song, “Recovering Romantic”, but it’s also a reflection on why he keeps making music. The Canadian piano pop tunesmith has been steadily building a loyal following across North America and beyond for over ten years, yet his new music has the feel of an artist still out to discover something fresh and honest and connect with a wider audience.  

“Recovering Romantic” has an undeniable groove, rich with Afro-Latin drums, percussion and a catchy syncopated piano hook. The performance is organic, a throwback to when they made danceable pop music without the aid of computers. The lyrics capture the vulnerability, danger and beauty of falling in love. It was written in New Orleans, where Evin was living for a spell. Howie Beck (Charlotte Day Wilson, River Tiber) produced the track and manages to make it sound contemporary, classic and elusive all at once. 

Evin has independently released five albums and two EP’s, and his champions include Barenaked Ladies, Ron Sexsmith and Australia’s Ben Lee. CBC Music called Evin the “next big thing”, and the lead single from his fifth full-length album Life As A Lover, “Have I Ever Loved?”, was among the Top 20 most played songs of 2015 on Sirius XM’s CBC Sonica. In 2017, Barenaked Ladies brought him out to support their US theatre tour, and he’s also shared stages with Sexsmith, Dan Mangan and Sarah Harmer. Fans love the spontaneity and energy of his live shows.

Mike Evin’s music is a modern spin on the classic piano pop of Billy Joel and Joe Jackson, and he’s been mentioned with Ben Folds and Jason Mraz. But he has a distinct voice - a heartfelt reflection of the human experience. His time spent in Cuba, New Orleans and the Aniishnaabe community of Manitoulin Island have all shaped his art. 

“Recovering Romantic” is out on January 25, 2019, and it’s the lead single from Evin’s sixth album, Evin On Earth, due later this year.

Have I Ever Loved? (instrumental)

Mike Evin

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