Wonderland

It's April 2014. After years of relentless touring, singer-songwriter Coco Love Alcorn has taken almost 4 years away from the tour circuit to raise her daughter Ellie. Disconnected from other musicians, Coco has been experimenting writing songs with a 5-track-looper, layering vocal tracks on top of each other in real time. As she gets the hang of the technique required to build songs by sampling herself she crafts a soulful song called "The River". Excited about this new direction, Coco films herself performing the gospel-tinged track in her bedroom and posts the magnetic performance on YouTube. The River video quickly spreads like a wildfire on social media and, before long, a community choir director in Vancouver has arranged the layers of loops for a stage full of singers. Within months the song is being sung by well over 1000 people across 3 countries. It's an aha moment for Coco who realizes that she - accidentally - has written choral music. When her new record Wonderland lands September 16, 2016, the charismatic singer will be performing with choirs across Canada. Fearless and versatile, Coco Love Alcorn has worked in soul, jazz, folk, blues, R&B, pop, rock, country, hip-hop, classical, electro - even children’s music. Over two decades, she's written, recorded, and performed with everyone from Joel Plaskett to Loudon Wainwright to Matt Andersen to Valdy but it wasn't until she became a mother and took a step back that a new direction came in to focus. "Everything I’ve ever done has led me here, to Wonderland, a collection of songs that is an invitation to connect, an invitation to sing, and an invitation to myself to dig deeper than ever in performance", Coco says. Instead of just another record, Wonderland became a project redefining Alcorn's career. "After all those years of thinking I was chasing down a sound it turns out I was searching for the right feeling. That feeling is connection." For those who have experienced Coco's uplifting and improv-driven live shows, her new musical direction seems like a natural extension of her contagiously joyful energy. "Everyone has a spirit and music is a universal language that can speak to the spirit. So with the human spirit as my muse, I have written songs that are very simple yet come from a very deep place", she says. Coco borrowed from the traditions of gospel, soul and folk to craft the songs on Wonderland. Tastefully produced by Andy Sheppard (Find the Others), the organic-sounding record is packed with arrestingly soulful, immediate songs. The album opens with the infectious bounce and defiant stance of "Good News" and "Trouble". "The River" is a goose-bumpy gospel ride while "Mary Mary" is a modern spiritual, sadly relevant in a time of great turbulence and displacement. "Old Habits" channels a touch of Erykah Badu and "Unbreakable" is another funky highlight, propelled forward by upright bass and organ stabs. The stripped-down, folky "Tiny Lights" has the makings of a future campfire classic. Tying the record together is Coco's sparkling voice and heartfelt delivery, anchored in her unshakeable faith in love, resilience, and the good in people. As Coco sings on the soaring title track, "When I'm looking with my heart / beautiful is all I see." Welcome to Wonderland.