Godmanchester singer/songwriter Lydia Sutherland to launch first album

Sarah Rennie After two years of hard work writing and perfecting her unique sound, local singer/songwriter Lydia Sutherland is poised to release her first album, La beauté de nous, on October 23 at La Sala Rossa in Montreal. Backed by a full seven musician band, Sutherland has been spent the better part of the last year selecting songs and logging long hours in the studio. With the album now completed, she is excited to finally be able to share it, and she admits, she isn’t the slightest bit nervous about its reception. "This is really what I represent," she says, noting she has worked in the background as a songwriter up until now, and is actually looking forward to people getting to see this side of her. She is also keenly aware of how lucky she is to have the opportunity to release an album. But it has not come without a lot of hard work. Over the last two years, she says she has been going from town to town, singing in contests. Having grown up in Godmanchester, she was a staple at the Huntingdon County Farmers’ Market this past summer, and has built up a following at home and across the province. She admits growing up in a household of musicians has made this easier. It was during one of the singing contests she competed in where she met Fred Lebel, who has been a contestant on La Voix, and is fairly well connected with the Montreal music scene. "I am really fortunate to have him guiding me through this," she says. A unique sound Her debut album features five songs as well as a bonus track. The title, La beauté de nous, or The Beauty of Us, refers to the fact each song was written about a different person "who has really marked my story," she says. As for developing her own sound, she insists, "music has no rules. I write what I like in the moment." A huge fan of American style folk-pop, she admits that before starting her career she listened to very little music by French artists. Now, she writes mainly in French and has worked to evolve a style all of her own that fuses her favourite elements of the American tradition to create a unique sound in the Quebec music scene. Lydia Sutherland’s new album will officially be available as of October 27, and can be found in some local stores as well as on iTunes, Spotify and other music streaming sites. Physical copies of the album will also be available through her website at: lydiasutherland.com.