If you travel all the way to the edge of Canada and go to the very edge of the Trans-Canada Highway in beautiful Victoria, you will find Dallas Road.
It stretches all along the Vancouver Island oceanfront, from Ogden Point Breakwater to Ross Bay. People say it has some of the most beautiful views of the ocean in Canada.
If you happen to take a stroll down this road you’ll find beaches, waves and most likely, the ladies that make up the roots/bluegrass trio The Sweet Lowdown.
“We all are very attached to the ocean,” said Shanti Bremer, one of the members of the band. At the time of the interview, she had just taken a quick break from teaching at Nimble Fingers Bluegrass Camp in Sorrento, B.C., another location she said she found quite beautiful.
“We love the beach and feel rejuvenated by being there,” she said, as she continued to reflect on Victoria. “I think it is an important place for all of us, and through that it, inspires our writing a lot.”
She quickly does the math and said that about 75 per cent of their songs are about water.
“We’re very oceany,” she added with a laugh.
The Sweet Lowdown is made up of Amanda Blied, Miriam Sonstenes and Bremer.
Bremer said the three started to jam together more about eight years ago and got to know each other very well by being very involved in the bluegrass scene in Victoria.
The band started out as a duo between Bremer and Blied, and in 2011, Sonstenes joined.
Now, The Sweet Lowdown has been touring more than ever, almost half of the year according to Bremer and they had their first U.K. tour this past April.
“We just feel the time is now. We have been a band now long enough that we feel really confident with each other,” explained Bremer. “There is a lot of momentum and we’re all totally engaged with the project very equally.”
That momentum and engagement may have to do with the positive response to their releases.
Their 2011 self-titled album was nominated for Roots Album of the Year by the Vancouver Island Music Awards. Their second album, May, was released in 2012 and won Island Roots Album of the Year at the Vancouver Island Music Awards, and was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award.
They are currently running an Indiegogo campaign to finish up their third and yet untitled album.
The trio worked with producer Adrian Dolan, who had worked with them on their previous album.
Bremer said they recorded on a farm on Mayne Island, which she described as totally inspiring.
“In terms of sound, we feel so much more confident,” said Bremer. “We felt just more ready to record than we ever had before. The sound we got out of the instruments was different. Adrian just has a beautiful touch.”
Instrumentation is something important to the trio – Blied on guitar, Bremer on banjo and Sonstenes on fiddle.
Bremer said that is a trend she has noticed in bluegrass – more women involved as players, describing it as a sort of a slow balancing of the sexes.
“Girls see musicians like Sierra Hull just shredding on her instrument and owning it. I think that is really inspirational when you’re young,” she said. “Women have always been involved in this type of music, but often as singers. So there is this more instrumental thing that is happening which is great to see.”
The Sweet Lowdown will perform at Legacy Guitar and Coffee House Saturday, Sept. 13 and will also be teaching a vocal harmony workshop at Legacy the same day.
Cost for the workshop is $20 and it starts at 3 p.m.
For more information visit sweetlowdown.ca.
