Dusty Wright - Can Anyone Hear Me? (2020)

‘Rain, Rain’ is the opening track from Dusty Wright’s eighth studio album, ‘Can anyone Hear Me?’ The album began life as a collection of protest songs, some of which had originally been written for Wright’s previous album. However, he wanted them to be more stripped-back, acoustic pieces that would suit the Americana-vibe of the new record. Co-producer and mixing/mastering engineer, Dan Cardinal (Darlingside, Josh Ritter), helped to create the sound Wright was looking for.

The lockdown presented a challenge when it came time to record the video for ‘Rain, Rain’ but Wright worked around it by creating the video himself. He explains: “I wrote and recorded the song in March during the lockdown in New York City. In May, I was able to escape to an old farmhouse near the Berkshire Mountains and I started thinking about shooting a video for the first single from my new album. I had a small tripod and my iPhone and spent a few days shooting different versions of a music video by myself; also shot some time lapse and slow motion footage, too. I was hoping to capture the essence of the remoteness and the healing power of nature. I had to wait a few weeks for it to rain. I finally settled on the porch imagery as an homage to Henry Diltz’s iconic album cover photo for Crosby, Stills & Nash. I discussed the concept with my bass player Kevin Mackall who edited it in his apartment in NYC. He thought it would be cool to include my dog Nikki in it. Pretty amazing what two people can create with digital technology.”

The artwork for ‘Can Anyone Hear Me?’ (see below) is by the UK lino-cut artist Kester Hackney and features icon images from the songs on the album. As a special, exclusive treat for AUK readers, Dusty has organised a competition giveaway for one of Kester Hackney’s signed handprints of the cover art. One lucky reader to send in the correct answers to the three questions below will win.