Awake, My Soul: The Original Soundtrack & Help Me to Sing Various Artists |Awake, My Soul / Help Me To Sing | (Awake Productions) | Street date: Oct. 14, 2008

ABOUT THE MOVIE: Over the course of 7 years, Atlanta filmmakers/ Sacred Harp singers, Matt & Erica Hinton, created Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp, the first feature documentary to explore the history, music, and traditions of Sacred Harp singing, the oldest surviving American music. This haunting music has survived over 200 years tucked away from sight in the rural deep south, and is now experiencing a resurgence of popularity, especially among young singers in such unlikely places as NYC, Chicago, & Portland. And so they, like the early singers, begin each song by intoning syllables which are represented by each shaped note in their hymnal: fa, sol, la, and mi. To the casual observer, it is some foreign, unintelligible language, but to these Sacred Harp singers, it is the key that unlocks mysteries: songs of both beauty and sorrow, of life and of death, songs that cause feet to stomp and tears to flow, often at the same time. Awake, My Soul has aired on over 150 Public TV stations and has been featured in TIME, Paste, Pitchfork, in many newspapers and on NPR[For more on the film and Sacred Harp visit www.awakemysoul.com] THE STORY BEHIND THE SOUNDTRACK: The Hintons wanted to create a soundtrack for their film that would provide an introduction to the songs of The Sacred Harp, and also they wanted to make the songs accessible to a new audience. They tapped an amazing list of artists to contribute to the project, including Jim Lauderdale, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin (who duets here with Rayna Gellert of Uncle Earl), Elvis Perkins, Murry Hammond (of Old 97s), Danielson, Richard Buckner, The Innocence Mission, Rick Moody (author of Garden State and The Ice Storm), Woven Hand, Mac Powell (Third Day) and more. "As a musician, it's almost impossible to sing Sacred Harp without wondering what the songs would sound like in another context. That curiosity, combined with my desire to make Sacred Harp more known to a culture which has largely ignored it, led to the creation of Help Me to Sing. At its core, I see it as a way of opening a door to a musical tradition that very many people are unfamiliar with. As far as I'm concerned, Help Me to Sing is the hook. Real Sacred Harp singing, as heard on the Awake My Soul soundtrack... well, that's the fish. It just so happens that in this case, even the bait wound up being extraordinary...." -Matt Hinton, Producer of Awake, My Soul & Help Me to Sing Disc 1: The Original Soundtrack of Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Disc Two: Help Me to Sing: Songs of the Sacred Harp performed by Sacred Harp, the critically acclaimed documentary as seen on PBS stations various artists. This is the first ever collection of popular music adaptations and featured on NPR, in TIME magazine, Pitchfork, The Chicago Tribune, of Sacred Harp songs. "Help Me to Sing" includes 19 never before heard Atlanta Journal, The Oregonian, etc. The soundtrack includes traditional tracks which were specifically commissioned for this CD by the co-director of Sacred Harp singing, as recorded in rural Georgia and Alabama. Awake, My Soul, Matt Hinton.

The enclosed CDs are promos and not the final product. The promotional inserts were hand letterpressed by Matt & Erica Hinton. Please ask for a pdf of the final artwork, which will include a 36 page booklet with essays & reflections by each artist.

Tracklist of Disc Two: Help Me To Sing: Various Artists performing Songs Inspired by the Film

1 “Blooming Youth” - Rayna Gellert (Uncle Earl) & John Paul 11 “Essay” - Tenement Halls Jones (Led Zeppelin) 12 “Windham” - Richard Buckner 2 “Weeping Pilgrim” - Elvis Perkins in Dearland 13 “Sermon on the Mount” - Danielson 3 “David’s Lamentation” - The Good Players 14 “And Am I Born to Die?” - Doc Watson & Gaither Carlton 4 “Africa” - The Innocence Mission 15 “Kedron” - Sam Amidon 5 “The Christian’s Hope” - Jim Lauderdale with Jeni & Billy 16 “Consecration” - Woven Hand 6 “Help Me To Sing” - Mac Powell (Third Day) 17 “The Grieved Soul” - Rick Moody and Nina Katchadourian 7 “Columbus” - John Wesley Harding 18 “Vernon / Wrestling Jacob” - Tim Eriksen (Cold Mountain 8 “The Traveler” - Cordelia’s Dad Soundtrack) 9 “Abbeville” - Liz Janes 19 “Christian’s Farewell” - DM Stith 10 “China” - All Things Bright & Beautiful 20 “Bound For Canaan” - Murry Hammond (Old 97’s)

SOME INTERESTING TIDBITS ABOUT THE CD * While almost all of the songs included were written in the 18th & 19th centuries, the songs "Lloyd" (Awake My Soul OST) and "Christian's Farewell" (Help Me to Sing) were written by a living songwriter, Raymond Hamrick, who, in his mid-90's, continues to work as a watchmaker in the same shop he's worked in since the 1930's in Macon GA. Hamrick is featured prominently in the film Awake, My Soul and is widely considered to be the greatest living Sacred Harp composer. * The little girl on the cover of Awake My Soul/ Help Me to Sing is Lorraine Miles. She was a 6 year old girl at a Sacred Harp singing in Mineral Wells, TX, when the photo was taken in 1930. During the final stages of production on Help Me to Sing, Murry Hammond (Old 97's) mentioned in an off-handed manner that "she would be easy to find", despite the fact that filmmakers Matt & Erica Hinton had spent the past 3 years looking out for her. Within one week, Hammond found her, alive and well, and living in Mineral Wells, completely oblivious to the fact that her portrait graced the cover of DVDs across the country. The following weekend, Lorraine Miles McFarland went to her first Sacred harp singing in over 70 years. She led a song and signed many autographs. * The producer and co-director of the film, Matt Hinton, is also known as a guitarist in the band Luxury and plays and sings on several tracks of Help Me to Sing

To request a promo of the Soundtrack or of the DVD or to request an interview with anyone involved in the project, please contact Daniel Gill @ Force Field PR: Force Field PR daniel@forcefieldpr.com Phone: 323-344-1602 To request a promo of the Soundtrack or of the DVD or to request an interview with anyone involved in the project, please contact Daniel Gill @ Force Field PR: Force Field PR daniel@forcefieldpr.com Phone: 323-344-1602