Solitaire

Before the pandemic, Ted Russell Kamp traveled the world performing about 200 shows a year, playing his own blend of roots and Americana music as well as being the longtime bass player for Shooter Jennings. He also worked as producer in his home studio The Den and when the quarantine started, it was The Den where Kamp found his haven to craft and cultivate the songs that would become his latest record. Solitaire is Kamp's 13th full album release. It consists of 14 songs recorded mostly alone at home during the last 9 months. The songs and overall feel of the album have an intimate and singer-songwriter quality. Kamp wanted them to sound more like solo performances, but with some extra instrumentation and spice added, reflecting the loneliness of being at home in quarantine: isolated from friends and the chance to play live. The music on Solitaire is indeed 90% Kamp as he plays a majority of the instruments on the album. He has again collaborated with several artists and friends known in the Americana genre, but this time remotely. "Almost everything I did was in my studio with all of the guest musician's overdubs recorded by them in their own home studios. This was a true quarantine record in that sense. Most played or sang harmony on just the songs I wrote with them." To create the sound of a full band on a few songs, Kamp had a few socially distant recording sessions: with John Shreffler (harmony vocals, pedal steel), Jim Doyle (drums) and Brian Whelan (harmony vocals). It was an "incredible breath of fresh air to actually see friends again and to reconnect and play with them."