David John Morris

David John Morris found himself taking Red River Road to Gambo Abbey in Nova Scotia, Canada and smiled to himself. It was one fortuitous signal among many along the way that led him to this place. Inside the Abbey, the Cornish songwriter became a temporarily ordained Buddhist monk and spent several months inside sans musical means of expression. After several months, he made a compelling argument to the elders and was permitted to acquire a guitar. From there, the songs fled from him and the idea to make an album, Monastic Love Songs, was conceived.

Monastic Love Songs is a follow-up to Red River Dialect’s Tender Gold and Gentle Blue, and was recorded in a single day at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal, the site of the recording of many Constellation Records albums, which were the object of David’s obsession at the time. Thor Harris plays drums and Thierry Amar plays on double bass, while Howard Bilerman helmed recording. Friends Tom Relleen (who also mentioned the studio and ignited the flame of the idea for this session), Catrin Vincent, and Coral Rose also appear.

In our conversation, David shared memories of the monastery and discussed what went about inside, and offers some additional insights into the ten songs of extraordinary depth, beauty, reflection, acceptance, and joy that make up this album.

Monastic Love Songs is out on May 21st. Pre-order it here.