Inspired by the lake, campfires, outdoor living and kitchen party jams, Red Moon Road is a down-home, acoustic folk and roots band with the right mix of pop, east coast and country charm. The Winnipeg-based, touring songwriters' collective is driven by the reckless abandon and soulful beauty of vocalist Sheena Rattai, the songwriting of multi-instrumentalist Daniel Jordan, and the sweet harmonies and songs of bilingual banjo/mandolin player Daniel Peloquin-Hopfner.
The life-long pursuit of an ideal musical collaborator was analogous for the two Daniels (Jordan and Peloquin-Hopfner). Peloquin-Hopfner's musical roots trace back to a youth spent studying classical piano in a small rural farm house with his two brothers. His passion was unleashed on the drum kit when the three siblings formed the progressive-metal act Entre Parentheses, while he developed a gentle sensibility on the acoustic stringed instruments he encountered along his wandering path.
Jordan, meanwhile, also originally a drummer (in High School Honour Jazz bands and later the U of M Jazz Orchestra, as well as a hired gun for the likes of Romi Mayes) came by his love of performance as the nephew of, and band leader for Winnipeg legend Rocki Rolletti. As both Daniels began to diversify in interest and instrumentation, it was inevitable that they find each other in the closely linked Winnipeg music scene. Shortly thereafter, the band was conceptualized on a small island in Lake of the Woods, around a fire on a chilly October moonlit night.
Many members and incarnations later, the two Daniels find themselves perfectly complemented by the darling of the Winnipeg Soul and R'n'B scene, siren-voiced songstress Sheena Rattai. A veteran of gospel and jazz training, Sheena was first seen fronting both her own group Sheena and wailing to packed houses with local funk sensations The Solutions.
Song-writing on the debut album, while primarily from the catalogue of Jordan, was a collaborative process. Instrumentation and arrangement was born from the input of all three members. Rattai brings with her the powerful and majestic track "Demons", while Peloquin-Hopfner's rural Franco-Manitoban heritage inspired the historically driven chanson "Qu'allons nous faire". Tracks like "Private Love" and "Hypothetical Girl" belie a sense of fun and country influence, while heart-string pullers like "Come Home" and "Where My Heart Is" demonstrate the bands lyrical and musical ability to reflect upon the human experience.
On the road again. #rmrgoeswestagain @ Ste Rose Du Lac http://t.co/6up59txZ7p
There was a beautiful red moon on the road this am on our way to the @680CJOB studio. Doing the show with @halanderson! There's a 6:30 am?!
RT @CBC_Scene: .@RedMoonRoad spends a lot of time outside the city. See what they listen to on those long drives to the country: http:// ...