What on paper looks like an odd pairing of Jonathan Byrd and Dromedary (winner of the 2003 Kerville New Folk competition and celebrated multi-instrumental duo respectively) has resulted in one of the most striking and distinct albums to come our way over the past few years.
While obviously a contemporary folk album in its lyrical approach with strong characters, stories and imagery, the backing is different to almost everything that’s come before. The use of charango, flamenco guitar and cumbus that feature amongst the more standard guitars, fiddle, mandolin and dulcimer gives the disc an individual sound and it creates some sublime moments of instrumental and vocal interplay.
It’s not just the instrumental craft and subtlety that stands out; the lyrics are equally strong with songs featuring varied characters and songs of love, longing, tragedy and hope.
Despite the individuality of the collection, a comparison to the writing and compositions of Dave Carter is an easy one to make; this disc may be a little more acoustic in tone, but the lyrical themes, intelligence, song structure and overall feel evoke Carter’s writing skills; and like his songs there’s a beautiful and effective simplicity in Byrd’s compositions.
Amongst the standout tracks are ‘The Young Slaver’ which has some superb guitar and fiddle work around a strong melody; ‘Little Bird’ is a simple song that’s beautifully played and arranged; and ‘The Sea and The Sky’ mixes folklore, myth and a great story – a wonderful track.
‘The Sea and The Sky’ is a stunning album that excels in every area, the lyrics, arrangements and performances are all exceptional, and this is one of the most refreshing and enjoyable discs we’ve heard. It may not (and probably won’t) receive the press coverage and success it deserves, but this is one not to miss out on. Highly recommended.

Jonathan Byrd and Dromedary deliver a convincing and thrilling rock and roll album, full of ace songwriting and musicianship. It's distinctly Southern in feeling, full of character and characters crossing paths and swords in a world pierced through with incomprehensible forces. The ever-evolving Byrd mentions as influences, Bob Dylan, Anais Mitchell, The Beatles & Merle Haggard.

"Jonathan Byrd continues to inspire awe with his versatility and musical sensitivity. This Is the New That does for rock and roll what The Sea and the Sky did for bluegrass, which is to take things to a different level. No one doubts that rock and roll can speak with a meaningful voice, but it hasn't spoken with such integration and grounded perspective for many years indeed. Folkies will like this recording, but Byrd draws a wider circle concentric to the one he already created. It is possible for first-rate songwriting to be sustained through a full length rock recording while exploring nearly every mode of human emotion and remaining, for lack of better words 'very cool.' If you doubt it, spin the disc and you'll see."

The Story Behind the Collaboration:

Jonathan Byrd and Dromedary's The Sea and the Sky

How Jonathan Byrd, Rob McMaken, and Andrew Reissiger found each other is almost as beautiful a story as The Sea and the Sky itself. When Dromedary and Jonathan Byrd were both putting in their time on the emerging artist/coffeehouse circuit in 2001, they met each other through a window in Asheville, NC. Jonathan remembers, "I was playing upstairs, and they were playing downstairs. I walked in and saw this incredible array of instruments, and I thought, who ARE these guys?" They traded CDs with only a few words exchanged, and as Andrew and Rob were driving back home through the mountains, they put in Jonathan's debut CD Wildflowers. Dromedary's McMaken recalls, "After a few songs, I said 'holy @#*#.' And a few songs later, Andrew said the same thing. We thought that was a good sign.''

Jonathan apparently had similar words to say about Artifact, Dromedary's debut CD. Despite the fact that Dromedary and Jonathan Byrd's music at that time were classified into quite different genres ("world/folk" and "roots/americana," respectively), they began playing double-bill shows together. Much to their surprise, audiences were ecstatic about the pairing and usually demanded encores, which all three musicians played together. "These encores essentially turned into a third set, since no one in the audience showed any signs of leaving," says Dromedary's Reissiger. After a year and a half of this, and a year and a half of late night jams at each others houses, Jonathan approached Dromedary with an offer that was hard to refuse, "I've written a whole album of songs called The Sea and the Sky. I've written it for you guys, and you're supposed to play on it."

Soon after this "proposal," Reissiger and McMaken were staying with Byrd at his North Carolina home. He started singing all the songs on the album and invited them to play along.

''We played the whole album with him from start to finish,'' says McMaken, ''and when we were done, it was clear - we were definitely going to start a band together. His first two albums were excellent, but this album was deeper, more musical, and extremely poetic. Andrew and I both really felt, and feel, that we had become a part of a very important transition of an artist on the level of a young Neil Young or Tom Waits, who had left the confines of being a great songwriter to become a great artist.'' And if that wasn't enough to convince Dromedary to do the album, McMaken adds, "It also didn't hurt that Jonathan's fiance’ Mary Moss is the best cook on the planet. She promised to cook for us as long as we were playing together!"

Since the day that Jonathan introduced The Sea and the Sky to Andrew and Rob, the music has undergone a great deal of transformation. Performing the whole "suite" from start to finish to select audiences in North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, New York, and Maine, the performance (and the recording) has grown into something that is "much bigger" than anything that any of these musicians have ever done. Some of Jonathan's best attributes-haunting lyricism, artful composition, and flawless musicianship-have mixed with Dromedary's unique blend of multicultural instrumentalism and telepathic improvisation to create an utterly unique performance. Now that the recording is released, look for the band on tour through summer of 2004 and perhaps far beyond that. Just as the stories and the music on The Sea and the Sky seem to travel the world endlessly, Jonathan Byrd and Dromedary seem poised to do the same.