Life is sometimes pretty slow north of the polar circle. In the mining town of Kiruna, people tend to think at least twice before they act. And if you don't have anything important to say, you keep quiet. There's not a lot of chit chat going on in Kiruna.

The five members of Willy Clay Band are very much a product af the far north and its mentality. They don't see it as an odd thing to wait four years to release the follow up to the successfull and highly acclaimed debut album »Rececca Drive«. They just had to wait until they were ready to do it. Wait until they had the songs.

But now the follow up is finally here. And what an album »Blue« is! 13 brilliant original songs + a cover of the eighties hit »Never Never«. It's not only the songs that are impressive. The sound of the band and the vocals are better than ever.

»Blue« was recorded in an old barn on the countryside outside Kiruna by the reknown engineer and producer Ollie Olson.

Life is sometimes pretty slow north of the polar circle. In the mining town of Kiruna, people tend to think at least twice before they act. And if you don't have anything important to say, you keep quiet. There's not a lot of chit chat going on in Kiruna.

The five members of Willy Clay Band are very much a product af the far north and its mentality. They don't see it as an odd thing to wait four years to release the follow up to the successfull and highly acclaimed debut album »Rececca Drive«. They just had to wait until they were ready to do it. Wait until they had the songs.

But now the follow up is finally here. And what an album »Blue« is! 13 brilliant original songs + a cover of the eighties hit »Never Never«. It's not only the songs that are impressive. The sound of the band and the vocals are better than ever.

»Blue« was recorded in an old barn on the countryside outside Kiruna by the reknown engineer and producer Ollie Olson.

The EP includes two brand new songs, ”Hollow” and ”The Miner (Kiruna)”, two covers recorded live (”All My Tears” by Julie Miller and ”Long May You Run” by Neil Young) and a rerecording of ”Soldier” from the first album ”Rebecca Drive”, now in an acoustic version with duet vocals by Tine Valand from the Norwegian band Somebody’s Darling.

The studio tracks were recorded in Athletic Sounds studio in Halden, Norway in August 2006 with Kai Andersen as co-producer. The live tracks were recorded at the Kiruna Festival 2006.

The EP includes two brand new songs, ”Hollow” and ”The Miner (Kiruna)”, two covers recorded live (”All My Tears” by Julie Miller and ”Long May You Run” by Neil Young) and a rerecording of ”Soldier” from the first album ”Rebecca Drive”, now in an acoustic version with duet vocals by Tine Valand from the Norwegian band Somebody’s Darling.

“Rebecca Drive” is the first album by Swedish Willy Clay Band. The album was recorded earlier this year in Nashville and it’s produced by Will Kimbrough (Rodney Crowell, Kate Campbell, Todd Snider, Jimmy Buffett, Greg Trooper, Mindy Smith, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Forbert…). The 13 self-penned songs of the album are uncomplicated, immediate and sometimes so obvious that you end up wondering why nobody written the song before. One of the strengths of the band is the three great songwriters in Tony Björkenvall, Björn Pettersson and Reine Touremaa, each one adding their own touch. Add that each of these songwriters is also a wonderful singer, individually and backing each other with heavenly harmonies. The band is completed by guitar wizard Örjan Mäki, playing lap steel, dobro and electric guitar, and the young, tasteful drummer Fredrik Elenius.

On “Rebecca Drive” the music of Willy Clay Band is further enhanced by guest appearances by Garth Hudson, the legendary keyboard player of the Band, and Bucky Baxter, who previously played with Bob Dylan, Steve Earle and several others

By first impression you’re tempted to tag the music of Willy Clay Band as classic Americana in the vein of The Band or the early version of The Eagles, spiced up with some influences from contemporary alt.country. But listen more closely and you’ll find that Willy Clay Band has managed to translate and adjust the music to their own reality way up north in Sweden. When they sing about travelling down the highway, it’s not about Highway 66 or I10 but the road between Kiruna and Karesuano. When you hear the sound of loneliness, it’s not an echo of the deserts of Arizona but the endless plains in the sparsely populated northern territories of Sweden.

“Rebecca Drive” is the first album by Swedish Willy Clay Band. The album was recorded earlier this year in Nashville and it’s produced by Will Kimbrough (Rodney Crowell, Kate Campbell, Todd Snider, Jimmy Buffett, Greg Trooper, Mindy Smith, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Forbert…).