Gold Medal Winner Trevor Dick Band
The Trevor Dick Band's album, New World, is poetic and makes listeners feel glad to be alive. Trevor Dick and his bandmates deliver phenomenal performances that mesmerize. The well-crafted, original compositions in this innovative cross-over album caused us to have renewed respect for electronic violins. This is one of Global Music Awards’ Top Ten Albums of 2015.
Award-winning instrumentalist Trevor Dick and his long-time bandmates have entered new territory with the introduction of the Trevor Dick Band’s debut album, New World. This world/jazz/folk fusion project with classical and modern pop/rock underpinning takes you from Africa to Latin America to Europe and North America, erasing all borders.
As a solo artist, Trevor’s five previous albums were in the gospel/sacred vein. 2010’s Yahweh won two GMA Covenant Awards including instrumental album of the year. Trevor helmed those recordings, but the combination and arranging contribution of all five seasoned musicians, Brad Toews (keys); Tony Lind (guitar); Will Jarvis (bass); Steve Heathcote (drums); and Trevor (violin, viola), to the songwriting took the Ontario-based group in a new creative direction. The New World album was engineered, mixed and co-produced by Richard Cleaver at Noble Street and Whisperwood Recording Studios.
Trevor was kind to respond to Global Music Awards' request for an interview:
What do you think are the most innovative and original aspects of your music?
We believe we have a fresh, creative jazz/world/progressive rock sound that is infused with rhythmic groove, beautiful melody and attention to tone. At the heart of this sound is Trevor's unique approach to the electric violin.
Why do you and your band-mates like the specific instruments used in your music?
These are the instruments that "found us". They were a calling and have become a passion. Together as a band, we have been able to collaboratively explore new worlds of culturally diverse tonal and rhythmic possibilities.
What makes you the proudest of your band-mates?
I am most proud of the unity and work ethic we have as a band. In the process of recording this and earlier projects, we became stronger and more unified as a team - encouraging and stretching each other to take bigger musical risks and think more outside the box.
What advice do you have for young, emerging musicians?
In a world wanting to get "quick results" take your time to really hone your artistic craft and develop your own unique sound to produce the very best music/recordings you can. Always be yourself. Live out your God-given calling.
Tell us about your background.
I was born in Nigeria, Africa, so I have a love for African music, especially West African,” says Trevor, “and another band member, Will, is a specialist in Latin American music — Cuban and Brazilian — so we were feeling fairly restricted creatively in the music that we were previously doing. We were ready for something brand new.
On most of our previous projects, I did the majority of the writing and just pitched that material to the band to rehearse and arrange. New World was the most collaborative effort we’ve had as a band, where everyone played a much more significant role in the writing and arrangements. Amazing, fresh and exciting things can happen when collaborating fully as a team. We saw this with New World as we worked together at a deeper level and pooled our ideas, musical skills and experience.
The music on this album also represents that sense of excitement, adventure, vision and sacrifice when our forefathers and mothers left the Old World, got on a ship and sailed into the unknown, in faith, and discovered the New World. That’s what this album is all about — that longing for adventure, that sense of creativity, the drive to explore new territories with reckless abandon.
Lean more about the Trevor Dick Band: LINK