Husband and wife duo Ida Mae (Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean), have announced the upcoming release of their debut album Chasing Lights for June 7th via Thirty Tigers. Today they have also released a new video for their single “Reaching”, directed by Tim Hyland. The video is currently streaming via Billboard who describes it as “an impressionistic pastiche featuring the two of them driving a friend’s snazzy sports car… around the English countryside.” “This was all filmed on the wilds of the Norfolk countryside,” the group writes about the video. “The song captures moments of our travels in the Deep South of the US… and the sense of adventure and abandon that we’ve had to embrace in our lives to begin Ida Mae.”
Watch – Ida Mae:”Reaching” below…
Ida Mae will be joining Blackberry Smoke on their Break It Down tour this spring. See below for a full list of 2019 U.S. dates.
Ida Mae recorded Chasing Lights with acclaimed producer and friend Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams / Ray Lamontagne / Kings Of Leon / Laura Marling). Johns, who also plays drums on the album, pushed the band to record straight to tape with little rehearsal, encouraging them to rely on their instincts in order to capture the songs in the most raw and real manner possible. “Ethan records live and very quickly,” explains Turpin. “He loves the naïve discovery of early takes. He loves the mistakes and the pure unthinking nature of those performances. It could be terrifying at times, but we always trusted his judgment.”
While the sessions were recorded with an old school approach, the album is by no means a throwback. Juno synthesizers and Korg drum machines flesh out the arrangements with distinctly modern touches (one track even features a percussion loop created on an iPhone), and Turpin often found himself running his historic 1930’s National resonator guitar through pedals and amplifiers to manipulate the sound.
Ida Mae’s magic lies in the sensuous dovetailing of two voices and the intimacy of their songs. Their chemistry on stage isn’t just a dramatic pose and is a truly captivating sight to behold. Hailing from Norwich and born out of Kill It Kid who established their credentials in the BritishMusic indie Rock world, Chris and Stephanie present themselves as a sensual version of White Stripes meets Civil Wars meets The xx. Singing together, the couple have an unusual ‘which-is-which’ dynamic.
Touring highlights as Ida Mae include support slots with Greta Van Fleet, The Marcus King Band, The Lone Bellow, Nick Mulvey, Nikki Lane, and Will Varley. They have also played Emmylou Harris’s Woofstock Festival & Kings Of Leon’s Harvest Night in Nashville.
Photo by Dean Chalkley
U.S. Tour Dates:
3/14/19 – Lexington, KY – Opera House*
3/15/19 – Lexington, KY – Opera House*
3/16/19 – Kalamazoo, MI – State Theatre*
3/17/19 – Kent, OH – The Kent Stage*
3/19/19 – Wabash, IN – Honeywell Center*
3/21/19 – Bloomington, IL – Castle Theatre*
3/22/19 – Waukegan, IL – Genesee Theatre*
3/23/19 – Medina, MN – Medina Entertainment Center*
3/24/19 – Rockford, IL – Coronado Theatre*
3/26/19 – Evansville, IN – Victory Theatre*
3/28/19 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center*
3/29/19 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center*
3/30/19 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center
4/01/19 – Englewood, NJ – Bergen PAC*
4/04/19 – Ithaca, NY – State Theatre*
4/05/19 – Easton, PA – State Theatre Center for the Arts*
4/06/19 – New York, NY – City Winery*
4/07/19 – New York, NY – City Winery*
4/11 – Greer, SC – Spring Skunk Music Festival
4/14/19 – Dale, TX – Old Settler’s Music Festival
9/05/19 – Las Vegas, NV – Big Blues Bender
*With Blackberry Smoke
