Galen Kipar Project’s “The Scenic Route” is set for Asheville release May 29th!

Galen Kipar Project’s fourth album in five years, The Scenic Route, was recorded in Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville North Carolina-[Others who have recorded there include Donna the Buffalo, Avett Brothers, and Band of Horses]. Featuring eight songs, the album promises to satisfy the musical longings of loyal fans as well as the uninitiated.  It was mastered in NYC by Richard Morris Mastering (Iron and Wine, Nora Jones, Wiyos, Felise Brothers). The Scenic Route was published by Paper Sailer Publishing.  Click here for a song preview from the album.

Galen will be the featured musician on the Fret Knot Radio Hour on Tuesday, May 25th at Malaprop’s bookstore. Host Chris Weller will interview Galen and the audience will get the chance to hear a few acoustic songs during this free show!

The official CD release party for the new album is Saturday, May 29th at the LAB on Lexington Ave in Downtown Asheville.

Here is what WNC Magazine’s Michael Flynn has to say about GKP:

Music: Sound Travels

The Galen Kipar Project wants to take you on a scenic ride

Like countless artists in Western North Carolina, singer-songwriter Galen Kipar finds inspiration in this region’s compelling landscape. The force of a rushing river, the solitude of the wilderness, and the surprise of an October snowfall turn up in lyrics on the latest CD from Asheville’s Galen Kipar Project. Titled The Scenic Route, the eight-song album continues the band’s fusion of folk, jazz, and classical elements, creating a sound that’s intricate and memorable, sophisticated and relaxed. “Headed on down to the waterside, going to find a place to rest my mind,” Kipar sings in “Riversong,” which adds viola and electric guitar to the band’s acoustic core. Guitarist Kipar, eight-string guitar/bass player Jon Morrow, and drummer Jeremy Young all studied music at area colleges, and Kipar’s arrangements draw on his background in classical composition. The band’s fourth album in five years includes ace Asheville musicians contributing on flute, strings, lap steel, and piano. “It comes from an honest place,” Kipar says about the album, which the band will release May 29. No matter where you’re headed, The Scenic Route is a trip well worth taking.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE: http://www.wncmagazine.com/feature/music/sound_travels

Check out these other reviews about GKP (Click the links for the full write-up):
“The Scenic Route is luminous and warm; Kipar’s vocals as light and syncopated as water cascading over rocks…Each song on Routes is carefully orchestrated and worked with the tender care of a master painter at his easel. Kipar elevates this eight-song collection far beyond standard singer/songwriter fare, wringing emotion and texture from each song and adding layers of interest with rich, resonant percussion and an intricate dance of string tones. He pushes the envelope of how many sounds can be introduced without reducing the sum to a fuzzy, sonic snarl.” ~Alli Marshall, Asheville’s Mountain Xpress“

In Asheville, fans call his act a ‘small-scale symphony.’ It’s probably more like chamber folk/pop, sometimes reminiscent of Adrian Belew’s quieter moods.” ~Tad Dickens, Roanoke Times

“I was given a copy of his CD Why It’s Needed [2007]  … and I was hooked right away.” … “Strange, slightly other-worldly acoustic music sung in a sweet, slightly distracted voice. I think of it as a sort of American Primitive, with hits of Sandy Bull in the guitars, Brett Dennen in the voice, Donna the Buffalo in the rustic simplicity, and something altogether new in the wonderful orchestrations. I have heard this CD about four times all the way through since it hit my car’s CD player two days ago. One of the songs… made me cry the first time I heard it. In the words of Tina Fey, when I hear the sounds of this nearby world, I want to go to there.’” ~David Gans, KPFA’s Dead to the World, Host of Grateful Dead Hour (Audio Interview Paraphrased)

Galen Kipar Project on the Web