Ray Bonneville

Bad Man’s Blood (2011)

Ray — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 23:06:18 +0000

Bad Man’s Blood
Sugar and Riley
River John
Good Times
Mississippi
Night Walker
Darlin’ (Put Your Suitcase Down)
Blonde of Mine
Cross and Flowers
Ray’s Jump
Funny ‘Bout Love

Red House Records is pleased to announce the August 30, 2011 release of Bad Man’s Blood, the highly anticipated new release from award-winning songwriter Ray Bonneville. One of Americana’s

most masterful players and songwriters, Ray is a veteran musician just now getting his due. With the release of this tour de force, Ray confirms that “His time has definitely come” (Real Blues Magazine).

From the haunting opening bars of the title track to the playful closing song, Ray takes us on a journey through life’s darkest and sunniest moments, delving deep into the lives of this world’s drifters, losers, lovers and criminals. Following in the tradition of the great American writers of the south and his favorite authors Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O’Connor, Ray draws inspiration from the places he has been, creating short stories that evoke true-to-life characters stumbling their way through a rough and tumble world of violence, hope and despair.

“They’re songs about life,” Ray says. “People love each other, leave each other, come back together again, get hopelessly lost…hell, on some days they take each other’s lives.”

Not putting a pretty veneer on it, Ray recorded these songs straight and unfiltered. He recorded all the basic tracks by himself, playing guitar, harmonica, foot percussion and singing, surrounded by six or seven microphones and four guitar amps. Mixing high quality with “dirty” mics, he and co-producer Justin Douglas captured Ray’s raw energy and intoxicating groove, recording nine new songs and new versions of two older ones.

“Some songs just will not leave you alone after they are recorded,” Ray says. “The guitar groove and words keep evolving over time. Two such songs, previously only released in Canada, kept on whispering to me.” So going back to his first album, Ray re-recorded the sweet up-tempo tune “Good Times” as well as his 1997 song “Blonde of Mine,” which has French and English lyrics intertwining. “I love to mix the two languages together,” he says. “It brings me back home.”

Ray grew up in French Canada but moved to the United States when he was young, speaking both languages and moving all over, from Alaska to Louisiana. The New Orleans influence runs deep in Ray’s playing, and his swampy blues style can be heard in his cover of “Mississippi,” which was written by the late Chicago musician Mike Jordan (Wet Dog Band, Famous Potatoes, Mike Jordan & the Rockamatics). Released as a digital single in June, it is a timely song about the flooding of the Mississippi River and fits in perfectly with Ray’s new originals, showing his remarkable ability to bridge blues, folk and Americana to create his own unique sound. The dark, edgy guitar on “Mississippi” carries a punch after the melancholy banjo sounds (played by Gurf Morlix) on “River John” and the funky horns on “Sugar and Riley.”

A perfect example of Ray’s “beautiful stripped-down sound” (Montreal Gazette), Bad Man’s Blood is an impressive follow- up to his latest Red House release Goin’ By Feel, which was named one of the best CD’s of 2008 by DownBeat Magazine. It solidifies his place as an innovative songwriter who plays to his own funky beat.

Ray is awarded Song of the Year

Ray — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:10:05 +0000

Ray received an award for “Song of the Year” at the International Folk Alliance conference for his song ‘The Big Easy.’ The award was voted on by Folk & Americana radio DJs all across North America.

‘The Big Easy’ — a song in which the city of New Orleans is speaking to the world — is off Ray’s 2008 release, “Goin’ by Feel”. It was recorded in Montreal and Austin Texas, and is co-produced by Rob Heaney, Gurf Morlix, and Ray Bonneville.

Goin’ by Feel (2008)

admin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:32:34 +0000

Listen online

Crow John
What Katy Did
Sabine River
Cemetery Road
I Am The Big Easy
So Long Blues
Reckless Feeling
Carry The Fallen
Goin’ By Feel
Shy Star
Run Jolee Run
Cool Cool Rain

order now | listen online

Red House Records is pleased to announce the January 22, 2008 release of Goin’ By Feel, the highly anticipated new album from slow-burning bluesman Ray Bonneville. Known for his funky visceral grooves and rich story songs, the Canadian-born artist stretches himself into new territory with gritty production and raw Americana instrumentation. This new album is one that is sure to solidify Ray’s place as one of today’s truly innovative roots musicians.

Although he has toured all over the world, sharing the bill with such luminaries as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, J.J. Cale and Robert Cray, Ray Bonneville became known in the U.S. a few years ago, when he released Roll It Down, his first CD on a U.S. label. Following up on that album’s success, he returns with a power-packed album that Ray produced with Gurf Morlix (Mary Gauthier, Lucinda Williams) and Rob Heaney (Cirque du Soleil, Kate & Anna McGarrigle). The record’s smoky groove-laden tracks include crowd favorites “What Katy Did,” “Carry the Fallen” and “I Am the Big Easy,” his powerful tribute to the resilience of New Orleans, where Bonneville lived for half a decade. Although the traveling musician has spent time in many places, including Boston, Colorado, Alaska, Montreal, Seattle and Paris, France, it is New Orleans that Ray cites as the city most influential to his unique musical style. Bonneville says, “New Orleans is where I learned to take my time, to allow space between the notes so the songs could truly groove.” That groove is certainly present in “I Am the Big Easy” with Ray’s funky syncopated sound mixing with Eliza Gilkyson’s earthy harmony vocals. This song, like all on Goin’ By Feel, is an example of what is best about Ray Bonneville—his ability to combine infectious bluesy sound with tough, poetic storytelling.

A world-class guitarist, harmonica player and hard-hitting songwriter, it is no wonder that Bonneville has received rave reviews from blues, jazz and roots critics alike and can count among his fans such artists as Chris Smither and Ray Wylie Hubbard. Combining the best of blues, folk and Americana, Ray’s grooves hypnotize and don’t let go.
Ray has been touring in Europe and North America throughout this past year, and wowed the music industry with his bring-down-the-house performances at South By Southwest and the North American Folk Alliance Conference. He will continue touring throughout 2008 in support of Goin’ By Feel.