EXCLUSIVE ALBUM STREAM: Mel Parsons - Red Grey Blue

Mel Parsons’ highly anticipated sophomore release Red Grey Blue is set to be released on September 19 but until then we have an exclusive full stream of the record available. Listen below.

Co-produced by Parsons and award-winning producer Jeremy Toy (She’s So Rad, Opensouls, Hollie Smith) the record was made in Auckland, NZ over the summer and autumn of 2011, and features a host of musician friends from near and far.

Following on from the success of her Tui-nominated debut album Over My Shoulder in 2009, Red Grey Blue runs the gamut from gentle and assured, to the depths of darkness and everything in between. Quiet ballads rub shoulders with fall-in-love pop gems and dark alt-country numbers.

Written over the past two years whilst touring her first record, the album is inspired by the melting-pot of Parsons’ musical influences from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to Paul Simon, Dire Straits to Fleetwood Mac. The song-writing itself is a reflection of the highs and lows on her own journey, delivered with Parsons’ trademark heart-on-sleeve lyrical style.

Forever a fan of soaring vocal harmony, Parsons is joined in the vocal booth by Anika Moa, Christof (UK), and Anji Sami (The Sami Sisters/She’s So Rad). Guitar duties are shared by Toy and Parsons’ long-time guitarist Neil Watson, while drums are taken care of by rising sensation Alistair Deverick (Ruby Suns, Lisa Crawley), with additional percussion by Paul Taylor (Feist). Ex-Cat Stevens bassist Bruce Lynch steps in on double bass, along with guest spots from Greg Johnson and Don McGlashan among others.

Red Grey Blue is out on September 19th.