– Levelland presents Bonnie and Taylor’s singing and acoustic instruments with a warm, rich purity –
Boulder, Colorado, December 20, 2021 – Octave Records’ latest release is Levelland by country-folk duo Bonnie and Taylor Sims. It’s a contemplative and romantic set of songs by the two, who have been playing and recording together for more than 15 years – but haven’t recorded a duo album until now. Bonnie and Taylor have earned numerous accolades, including 2020’s internationally-charting Number One single, “I See Red,” as well as top honors in the RockyGrass and Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and other awards.
Levelland, named after the “underwhelming” (as they put it) town in Texas where they first met, features the lead and harmony vocals of Bonnie and Taylor, with Bonnie playing mandolin, Taylor adeptly picking the acoustic guitar, and Brad Morse accompanying them on upright bass. The sound is open, clear and intimate, ideal for a label like Octave Records that presents the artistry of its performers in the finest-possible audiophile-quality sound.
The album was recorded at Animal Lane Studios in Lyons, Colorado using Octave Records’ Pure DSD process and the Sonoma multi-track DSD recording system. It was recorded, mastered and mixed in DSD on the Sonoma workstation by Gus Skinas. A number of vintage and other instruments were used, including a 1946 Martin D-18, 1957 Martin OOO-18, 1910 upright bass, and a 2015 Newsom F5 mandolin.
Levelland is available as a limited-edition release of 1,000 hybrid SACD discs with the master DSD layer and a CD layer. In addition, the album can be purchased as a download bundle including DSD64, DSDDirect Mastered 192kHz/24-bit, 96kHz/24-bit and 44.1kHz/16-bit PCM. Levelland was produced by Bonnie and Taylor Sims and Jessica Carson was the executive producer.
Levelland presents Bonnie and Taylor’s singing with a warm, rich purity, complemented by the stunning clarity of the acoustic instruments. The sound is intimate and inviting, presented without studio trickery or embellishment. The nuances and dynamics of Bonnie and Taylor’s singing and playing are conveyed up-close-and-personal, from their heartfelt harmony vocals of the title track and “Let It Play,” to the upbeat drive and dexterous fingerpicking of “Side By Side.” Bonnie’s impassioned, high-register vocals take “Every Little Bit” to a powerful emotional peak, and it’s easy to hear why the duo’s cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You” has been a long-time crowd favorite and staple of their repertoire for many years.
“We lived in a rich community of bluegrass, folk and country musicians, and would just sit around and pick, most every day and every night,” Taylor Sims said. Bonnie and I became musically and then romantically connected.” Sims noted, “Over the years, Bonnie and I had had a lot of requests to do a duo record.” That record, Levelland, is the culmination of their years of performing together.
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