NASHVILLE, TN. (Dualtone Music) - Dualtone
Music will officially release the debut album by singer/songwriter Carey Ott, Lucid Dream, on January 23, 2007. Songs from the album are currently available digitally on iTunes and all major download sites. Upon its digital release, Lucid
Dream entered in the top five downloads on eMusic, landing alongside The Raconteurs, Sufjan Stevens, Dashboard Confessional, and Johnny Cash. In addition, "I Wouldn't Do That To You" aired on the season finale of ABC's Kyle XY and "Am I Just One" was featured on two episodes of Grey's Anatomy.
The success of these two songs sets the table nicely for "Daylight," The single whose long stay at No 1 on the Indie Rock category and No 20 all time at garageband.com signifies Lucid Dream's run with 2007's best of the best! Speaking of which Carey is featured in the Best of 2006 Indie Singer/Songwriter spotlight at iTunes. This is promoted on the main banner on the overall iTunes store, on the main music page and on the folk page. Adding a little more fuel to the fire are a couple more music sites (candiedpop.com, middle of nowhere) where Lucid Dream was picked in their year end "best of the best!".
Lucid Dream will be officially released in the UK January 29/07.
In a few short years, Dualtone has become known as a powerhouse indie label, releasing roots oriented gems from June Carter Cash, Guy Clark, Bobby Bare, Charlie Robison, Radney Foster, The Greencards, and BR-549. The label has also catalogued vintage releases from The Silos, The Reivers and Townes Van Zandt, and has been nominated for nine Grammy awards, winning three times. And it is a knack for spotting special talent that attracted the label to Carey Ott, a singer/songwriter in the tradition of Jeff Tweedy and Damien Rice—that is, a working class artist with more substance than hype.
"A lot of people might see this as a departure for us, but it has always been our intention to put out great music and not just from an Americana background," says Dualtone Co-President Scott Robinson. "From the beginning we intended on fostering great singer/songwriters from a more indie rock background, and we just hadn't found the right one until now." Robinson added that the release date of the album has been changed a few times to reflect the building hype from the TV placements. "We truly believe this is a great record and we want to make sure we are taking all necessary steps to make sure it gets heard," he adds.
The songs on Lucid Dream are the kind of songs that take up residence in your head, hitting you like epiphanies every time you press play. Like Joni Mitchell and Elvis Costello, Ott is willing to throw out the rules of pop songwriting in order to get the effect he wants. You can hear characters moving around, getting in and out of trouble, and even visualize the rooms they were in. The sense of intimacy in Carey Ott's music derives in part from the respect for space that permeates Lucid Dream, as if the producers understood that these songs are too good to smother in production.
As former front man of Chicago alt-rock band Torben Floor, Ott had been wined, dined and courted by major labels. Ultimately tired of playing the waiting game, the band split and Ott decided to go it alone with the support of producers Ed Tinley (Liz Phair) and Ray Kennedy (Ron Sexsmith, Steve Earle, John Mellencamp, Lucinda Williams) and longtime manager Gary Taylor.
