Troubadour sea captains and Northwind Records recording artists Mike & Amy Aiken, have released the ethereal and poignant single and music video “Flew Away.” The song is available at most major digital retailers at this link https://orcd.co/maafa.
The music video was Exclusively Premiered this week by Americana UK Magazine. Watch it here on YouTube.
“Flew Away” opens with an underpinning of delicate finger picking on acoustic guitar and ethereal pedal steel guitar swells that set the stage for a haunting – yet comforting – tale about the end of life, and the journey to the other side. The visually stunning music video, directed by Paul Steward, perfectly captures the mood of the song by juxtaposing live performance clips of Mike and Amy and blending them with state-of-the-art visuals which complement the track as emotions rise and fall like the turning of the ocean’s tide.
At its simplest, “Flew Away” is about saying goodbye and thank you to a parent who passed. Mike was looking for a way to express himself in song after watching his father come to terms with dying and moving on. The unexpected catalyst was the passing of David Crosby and the strong influence he had on Mike Aiken and Chris P James, the songwriters.
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The song grew from alternate tuning/big Crosby-type chords that Mike played on guitar, coupled with Chris’ delicate piano stylings. Mike also shares with Crosby a life as a sailor and captain. His father introduced him to sailing on a wooden sailboat at a young age and that sparked a lifetime of crossing oceans on his own.
“Flew Away” was recorded in Virginia with co-producer/engineer Skip DeRupa, and in Nashville by musician, composer, engineer, Andrew Piland. Final tracking and mixing were completed with DeRupa. The track features co-producer Mike Aiken on guitar and vocals, co-producer Amy Aiken on vocals, Gideon Klein on pedal steel, cello, and upright bass, Andrew Piland on piano, and Tim Buppert on vocals.
“In the studio, we opted for a sound different to my typical instrumentation to keep in line with the writing process featuring guitar and piano,” Mike says. ‘I recorded a lot of ideas, several instruments, vocals, and pared it down to what truly served the song. I wanted three distinct voices. Of course, mine and Amy’s and I brought in Tim Buppert as the third. Tim has sung on much of my music, and I knew the song would resonate with him.”
“Writing and producing ‘Flew Away’ has been a very personal, sometimes difficult, and close to the bone song for me,” Mike shares. “It is about the end of life and the dying process of my father. It took a good two years after he passed before I could step back with some objectivity and write. In that time, I started to better understand the life lessons he tried to pass down to me and the freedom he encouraged me to run with and chase my dreams. This was not a song that dropped out of the air in 20 minutes. It was a lifetime of lessons. During the process I started thinking of what I was trying to pass on to my daughter and what she is trying to pass on to her children. It’s not an easy task.”
ABOUT MIKE & AMY AIKEN
With a nod to Americana, roots and country, Mike & Amy Aiken deliver honest tunes and tall tales with a distinctive ocean view. These life partners and sea captains have logged over 30,000 Bluewater miles sailing their boat from Nova Scotia to Europe to the Caribbean and beyond. They have crossed the seas and crisscrossed countries sharing the music born of their experiences.
Mike’s original songs and stories are a celebration of the independent spirit found in characters they have encountered. Through their accomplished songwriting, storytelling and instrumentation, Mike and Amy’s uniquely personal performances invite audiences to share their lived adventure and their genuine humanity. Audiences invariably say ‘yes!”
On stage, Mike’s earthy voice and masterful work on assorted guitars are perfectly matched by Amy’s open heart, sweet harmonies and tasty percussion and drums. The Aikens have a way of turning audiences into friends and performance venues into their own back porch.
Mike & Amy define their place among roots, folk and Americana artists with seven nationally and internationally recognized albums, a first-round GRAMMY nomination, #1 and #13 albums in Europe, five Top 25 singles. Recognizing the need to pay back and pass the music on, Mike & Amy founded the Aiken & Friends Fest in 2005, which benefits music education.
