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This is a most remarkable project - many years in the making. I first started doing recordings for Marty back in the 90s, to help him with his work as a music publisher - doing song demos etc. But we started doing recordings of Marty singing songs that he wrote but that others had recorded over the years - going all the way back to the late 1950s and early 60s. After a while it became clear that we had something really special. It’s taken a long time to get it into it’s present form - a truly first-class CD and booklet package, presenting Marty Cooper’s songs, that truly form a portrait of America in all its facets - the positive and the problematic, but always the land of the possible.

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Heroes and Friends features 15 songs written mostly by friends of the band, along with a couple by well-known songwriting heroes. Rifters member Don Richmond says, “Although we've often included friends' songs on our other mostly original albums, we decided to really pay tribute to as many of these friends of ours as we could, who are also very much heroes to us. We hope folks will love these songs and our interpretations of them too!”

We’re thrilled to share the first single (with a cool video) from the upcoming Eliza Gilkyson album “Dark Ages”, called “Dark Night of the Soul”. It’s actually a very hopeful anthem about getting through difficult times. The album will be released on Eliza’s own Realiza Records label, but was recorded and mixed by Don Richmond, primarily at our Howlin’ Dog Records studio.

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Congratulations to Eliza!

We had a nice bit of good news yesterday - our old friend and Howlin' Dog Records artist Dave Miller just found out that he's a finalist in the International Acoustic Music Awards songwriting competition for a great bluegrassy sort of tune he wrote called "Jenkin's Plan", which is on his HD Records release "Prayers in the Wind". It's a sweet tune, and we congratulate brother Dave! There will be new music coming this year from him - we'll keep you posted!

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We’re thrilled to share that the Rifters’ The Enchanted World, on Howlin' Dog Records debuted at #25 on the Roots Music Report’s Top 50 Americana Country Albums Chart last week! We are darn proud of this one ourselves. In fact, Country Standard Time says, “Acoustic music doesn't get any better.”

The Enchanted World is the seventh album release from the northern New Mexico based trio the Rifters. The Rifters, Don, Jim, and Rod are known across the Southwest and beyond for their "Southwestern Americana" rhythmic acoustic-based music. Their songs feature excellent musicianship and soaring harmonies, reflecting the high desert land of mountains, mesas, valleys and canyons they call home.

Reviews of The Enchanted World note the: 

“...exquisite mandolin playing and three-part harmonies to die for. Simply spellbinding." (Americana UK)

And

“...superb playing & wonderful songs.” It’s a musical experience that caresses your ears & is hard to forget.” (Americana Highways)

And 

“Every song on the Rifters’ seventh album serves up a heaping helping of perfection. THE ENCHANTED WORLD is one of those albums that shouts out ‘Drop me on the turntable and listen!' Wisdom, humour, reflection, tradition, originality, reverence for the landscape and an unsentimental love of living amidst one’s fellow humans, all join to create this impressively out of the ordinary recording.” (Alan Cackett – Americana, Roots and Bluegrass Music)

The album features 14 songs, 10 of which are originals or co-writes. Several of the songs in The Enchanted World are an homage to the ranching and western life, with all of its idiosyncrasies and challenges, and the glory of the landscape of the ranching west. Along the way the journey explores many issues of finding our way through our lives and our days, such as the challenges of maturity, environmental awareness and just paying the bills. Through it all runs a thread of wonder and gratitude for this amazing, enchanted world we are all so fortunate to inhabit.

The Rifters welcome many friends into The Enchanted World, including Eliza Gilkyson, Michael Hearne, Diamond Jim Richmond, and Pete Wernick. As Eliza says, it’s "my new favorite cd on constant play in my car. Beautiful songs, lyrically rendered with sweet harmonies and a sense of real camaraderie between the band mates. This is the musical soundtrack of our rugged, glorious southwest, authentically expressed by this trio of artists who so clearly love their high desert home." The Rifters hope you enjoy the grand journey through The Enchanted World!

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Don Richmond and David Clemmer are two long time friends and musical collaborators, who also happen to be founders of Howlin' Dog Records. Don is the primary engineer and multi-instrumentalist producer of hundreds of projects at HDR, and both Don and David are dedicated singer-songwriters and musicians in their own right. They have released two earlier projects on Howlin' Dog, Promised Land and Holy Roller and a Rolling Stone. Over the years of their collaborations in the studio they have written and recorded a number of Holiday and Christmas themed songs, giving them the superb acoustic folk- Americana production for which Howlin' Dog is known, and they feel like it's time to send them out to meet the world! Some of the Richmond and Clemmer songs ("Sangre de Cristo Christmas", "New Mexico Moon", "El Nino Christmas") are regionally themed, celebrating the rich culture and the dramatic landscape of their homeland of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. Other originals ("Come Home for Christmas", "Make Room for the Magic", "Kindness Is Your Guiding Light", "The King", and "A Fevery Little Girl Christmas") speak of many of the things that make the Holidays a time of celebrations - love, light, fond memories, and the joy of family and friends. "Having a Vegan for Christmas" is a light-hearted romp through the traditions of Holiday meals.

Then Don and David sprinkled several familiar old friends in the song list - some as brief interludes ("Jolly Old St. Nicholas", "White Christmas", "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"), and some as full-blown productions ("Deck the Halls", "Here We Come a Wassailing"). The collection closes with a hauntingly beautiful rendition of "Away in a Manger", played on hammered dulcimer and pennywhistles.

Howlin' Dog Records joins Don and David in wishing everyone the very best of the Holiday season, and hope that this unique collection of original and traditional Holiday songs adds a bit of extra warmth and sparkle to your celebrations!

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