Kevin Salem played guitar in the seminal Boston band Dumptruck before touring and recording with Yo La Tengo and Freedy Johnston, among others. His solo career produced the acclaimed albums Soma City, Glimmer and Ecstatic (Roadrunner) and a tie with Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day for “Best New Male Singer” in the 1994 Rolling Stone Critics’ Poll. In recent years Salem has focused on production and collaboration with a wide range of artists including Emmylou Harris, Chris Harford, Rachael Yamagata, Tracey Bonham and Mercury Rev.
In 2017 Eric Harrison, a Fanwood, New Jersey-based songwriter and a longtime fan, had the good fortune to enter Salem’s orbit while looking for a new producer following the untimely death of his producer Eric Kvortek. Salem ended up producing three tracks on Harrison’s 2017 album Mercy Road, followed by the full album Gratitude in 2020 and the EPs Good Intentions in 2021 and Dear John in 2022.
“I think it’s obvious from listening to these records how Kevin upped my game as a songwriter,” Harrison comments. “He brings zero ego to every project and makes it his own without hijacking it. His musicianship, his studio skills and the huge overlap in our musical tastes make him my ideal producer.”
“Somerset” is the first single from Harrison‘s forthcoming album No Defenses and the first of his collaborations with Salem which began with the producer. Harrison plans to release additional singles in the coming months, followed by a release of the full album No Defenses in early 2023.
“Within five seconds of listening to Kevin’s demo I knew this was going to be a song about summer’s end,” says Harrison. “I added lyrics that fit the mood - a first for me and a lot of fun. . . . Though now that it’s out I really need to schedule a lesson with Kevin to learn the chords.”
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