It’s always interesting to hear the back story of how collaboration comes to fruition. In the case of Van Plating and teaming up with Reckless Kelly, it was rather trouble-free on her new single “The Hard Way.“
I thought for a minute, and I said, “Well I really want this one to vibe Red Dirt country, you know, or Texas country. I freaking love Reckless Kelly, but there is NO WAY I have any way to reach Willy and Cody Braun, and even if I could, why would they say yes to a nobody from Florida?” says songwriter Rachel Plating the voice of Van Plating.
“My friend laughed and said, “Reckless Kelly? You sure?” And I said, “I think their voices would be amazing with mine. But how would I make that happen?”
And my friend, who is also a producer, said, “Well, it just so happens that I have booked Cody for some fiddle work on another project of mine; I’m happy to ask him for you and pass along the song. If they like the song, maybe they’ll do it.”
So there you have it, however, Van Plating proudly refers to her style of music as “Orange Blossom Country” – which certainly is a scenic description of her heartfelt vocals with just the ideal amount of twang. Van Plating’s upcoming album Orange Blossom Child (out 9/15), is a deeply personal exploration of her family’s journey and the concept of home in rural Florida during the latter half of the 20th century. Every element, from the lyrical content to the musical influences, is intricately tied to the specific time and geographical location.
Glide is premiering “The Hard Way” (below) from Van Plating which is a swooning effort that plays like a lost ’70s Emmylou Harris cut where she gathered some Nashville musical assassins, but it never saw the light of the day.
“The musicians also freaking killed it in this session. We’ve got Tammy Rogers King from The Steeldrivers on mandolin–she tracked her parts before I even had drums on it. John Lum, who played most of the drums on the album, whose main gig is with Devon Allman in all his various projects. He tracked using a stereo pair of Greg Allman’s ribbon mics, as a little nod to my history/the album’s theme. Neil Jones from American Aquarium played pedal steel–such a beautiful, elegant player. We’ve also got Nashville friends Dave Coleman and Will Payne Harrison on the track, on electric guitars and bass, respectively. I handled the production, vocals, acoustic guitars, fiddle work, percussion, and piano,” adds Plating.
