Toronto-based Juno nominees and winners of the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine of Dala are back on the road after a near two-year hiatus from music.
On a western Canada swing, the dynamite folk-pop duo that are famous for some highly hummable songs will grace the stage of Communitea Café on Sunday (Sept. 13).
After becoming a mother, Walther took some necessary time away from tunes to raise her child, but Carabine has been plugging away at the music-machine while working a few different jobs, and she is nearly ready to release a solo record of her own.
When performing together, though, this best friend tandem has been best described as “angelic” and “joyous” in their infectious, melodic sound.
“Joy is a loaded word, but it resonates with me completely,” Carabine said, laughing.
“My favourite place to be is to be sharing a stage with Amanda and expressing myself through song, and feeling a connection with people. I think that is ultimately where I’m at my happiest. I guess they say that you should find the thing you love to do and do it, and in the last years, I’ve had more time to wonder about other careers, but the minute I’m back on stage, it’s undeniable – it’s what my heart wants to be doing.”
Taking some time away, this honey-voiced two-piece is ready for some new road stories and creative collaboration.
“We are just getting back into the zone of touring again and we have this tour coming west, and it’s been quite a while since we were on the road together for an extended period of time, but we are both so excited,” said Carabine, giddily.
“The break has been good for us to re-energize and a new album is definitely on the horizon. There are only so many years that you can keep saying ‘check out our latest album’ when it feels like a late album.”
Starting off with a bang, their first album, Everyone Is Someone, was released in 2009 to critical acclaim. With five Canadian Folk Music Award nominations, and a Toronto Independent Music Award for Best Folk Group, Everyone was touted by The Irish Post as the Album of the Year. The plodding, haunting “Horses” was also nominated by National Public Radio in the U.S. as one of the “Top Ten folk songs of 2009.”
Armed with five albums, and having toured extensively across North America, Dala are darlings of the Canadian music scene and their songs draw from a range of musical influences.
The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan are all regular liner-note mentions for these gals, as Walther and Carabine write songs that are both familiar and unique. Walther’s silky soprano voice works well with Carabine’s sultry alto, forming a colourful harmonic mosaic.
But as in life, joy doesn’t always permeate, and there have been times of struggle and reflection for Carabine along the ever-winding and ever-beckoning touring road.
“The challenge can be that you can’t do a residency in Toronto every night of the week, every single month of the year,” she added.
“Unless you’re Celine Dion and you’re in Vegas, you have to stay on the road and keep moving, and that can take you away from the people you love and you can definitely miss out on milestone events in the lives of your loved ones, and even in your own life.”
Despite the rails of the road warrior, Carabine is able to sift through the strife of a highway life, and enjoys the rush of performing her songs live like nothing else.
“The road does call, but I do love it – it can be challenging but it’s worth it.”
Looking forward to a flock of Western Canadian dates, the Dala girls are excited to see one of their favourite parts of Canada again and feel a certain kinship and connection with both the people and the rugged, mountainous terrain of Alberta and the Bow Valley.
“I love the wild west of Canada,” she said, with gusto.
“Every time we make that drive, it takes my breath away. It’s the opposite of ‘Once you’ve seen one mountain, you’ve seem ‘em all’ – it’s like the first time every time. And we’ve always had great support in Alberta from day one while opening for other artists and playing our own shows and playing at folk festivals. But it always feels like a homecoming, so who knows – maybe we are cowgirls at heart.”
Dala have a penchant for turning new listeners into fans, as they come off like friends from your neighbourhood. They love to exercise their comedic charm between songs, and recant an arm’s length of life lessons and stories.
Having opened for Tom Cochrane, and performed with Stuart McLean of the CBC’s Vinyl Café, they are no strangers to Canadian and international acclaim.
Their latest album Best Day was released in June of 2012, and was nominated for three Canadian Folk Music Awards, but these hard-working wielders of melody will be sure to have some new songs in the hopper very soon.
