Give A Sunrise…
It isn't every day that one of the people you love most in the world creates an album and asks you to introduce it. It is even less ordinary that the album is produced to benefit a charity you believe in. It is rarest of all when that album is, simply put, outstanding. This is the backdrop under which I introduce Give A Sunrise, the debut recording by Yo Como.
Give A Sunrise is the exceptional effort of artists Maggie Devlin and Michael Johnston, the resultant collaboration of two talented musicians and friends who have come together for a love of music and the benefit of a cause they believe in. It is this unfaltering devotion which underpins Yo Como's sound: precision yet drive in the impeccable musicianship of Johnston as an instrumentalist, and the delicate and beautifully subtle handling of melody in Devlin's ethereal voice, combining to create the effect of a product which is finished, but maintains a passion which is raw, and a musical honesty which is extremely personal.
The majority of the tracks are a modern reworking of traditional Scottish and Irish song, contemporary in their varied musical influence from Bert Jansch to The Waterboys, but approached with the confidence that the music remains "songs your mummy would have sung to you if you were sick and full of the cold."
Give A Sunrise is just this: a personal and loving musical storytelling which navigates old and new territory to create an unshakable nostalgia for a time and place you might never have known yet feels familiar. The three tracks of new music, Anam Cara, Francie, and Nothing Gold Can Stay for me are the most powerful: erudite, sophisticated, and deeply intimate, these are glowing examples of the inherent capability of these evolving musicians.
The definitive beauty of Give a Sunrise is of course not just the finished product, but its application. Proceeds from the album go to Ripple Africa, a grassroots charity working to transform the lives of thousands of people in Malawi.
Ripple supports education, healthcare, and the environment in the small rural community of Mwaya, and works with local people to empower change from the bottom up. It is this philosophy which makes Ripple remarkable: the philosophy that change must come from individuals themselves, and the belief that a charity's job is to provide a hand up, not a hand out.
The power of the individual is at the core of Give a Sunrise, where two people have used ingenuity and creativity to make a difference to the lives of others. And you as an individual have a role to play as well. Every time you listen to Give a Sunrise I want you to think of the love in a child's eyes who can attend school because you bought this album, the pride in a man's face who is able to support his family because your purchase paid for his salary, the relief experienced by a mother whose child is protected from disease because a Ripple Africa volunteer gave her child life-saving vaccinations.
Give A Sunrise feels intimate because it is: it is the catalyst through which you have the opportunity to give hope to someone who would otherwise be without it. Enjoy this music with all your heart, and be thankful for your opportunity to give a sunrise...
Megan Canning