Tony Wright and Ryan Hamilton Announce New Album, 'Grand Ole Otley'

LONDON, UK - (April 2018 Press Release) - On paper, it’s an unlikely-looking union; Ryan Hamilton, the Texas rocker who grew up on country greats, and Tony Wright of Brit-Rock hitmakers Terrorvision, have banded together to produce ‘Grand Ole Otley’, an album of country songs re-worked in their unique style and the first release of a brand new transatlantic collaborative project, led by their version of the Don Gibson classic later recorded by Johnny Cash among others, 'Oh Lonesome Me'.

On being introduced by producer Dave Draper, Hamilton said: "Ya know, I'm still not exactly sure how it happened. At the time, our [Traitors] new single ‘Smarter’ was doing well on UK radio... and one day, Dave goes, “What would you think about recording a song with Tony?” I was already a fan of Terrorvision, and we have a lot of mutual friends, but I had never met Tony. I don't know if he heard our song on the radio, or just overheard our stuff that Dave was working on. Whatever happened, he expressed interest in working together. I was flattered and excited. Before I knew it, we were recording an old song together called ‘Everytime I'm Kissing you’. Never in a million years did I think we'd make an album together. Especially not THIS album. This whole thing continues to be the most wonderful surprise."

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​Their shared love of ‘good music’ led to talk of an album covering country standards and more obscure songs from way back in the archives. The resulting album, ‘Grand Old Otley’, is a heady mix of country, Americana and folk and is likely to prove much darker at times that could be expected from a pair notorious for their wise-cracking.

Initial takes for the album were captured in Wright’s coffee/print-shop, Bloomfield Square in Otley, Yorkshire (referenced by the album’s respectfully tongue-in-cheek title). A beautifully renovated 18th Century building with plenty of charm, as a temporary ‘studio’ it certainly lends its very own special acoustics to the grass-roots vibe of the recordings.

"There’s something really magical about Tony's Bloomfield Square. Talking through, deciding on the tracks, and doing the initial recordings in the back of that beautiful old building definitely lent itself well to the vibe and a direction of the album. It's strange how things have fallen into place with this project. Accidentally. Sort of creepy, actually. But, again, that old school, dark/creepy vibe lends itself well to these tunes. I think we've stumbled onto something wonderful here. Accident or not, it just works. Even though on paper, it looks like it shouldn't."

Adding a further unexpected wrinkle into the mix, after his recent foray into genealogy, Tony has announced – “who knew?! It seems that Ryan and I are actually distantly related…”

Wright and Hamilton take the album on the road for a short string of intimate shows in June (tickets on-sale now) – celebrating the official release at London’s beautiful St Pancras Old Church on Friday June 8th. These shows promise to be nights of laughter and story-telling definitely not to be missed:
6th June - Parish, Huddersfield
7th June - Gullivers, Manchester
8th June - St Pancras Old Church, London
9th June - Bodega, Nottingham
10th June - Prohibition Caberet Bar, Gateshead

Tickets & info from http://tonywrightandryanhamilton.com/

‘Grand Ole Otley’ is out 8th June 2018.