Zach Russell, a talented artist from East Tennessee, is all set to release his debut full-length album, Where The Flowers Meet The Dew, on December 1st via Thirty Tigers. The album’s first single, “Born Again,” is a train-beat-driven, existential study of Russell’s religious upbringing and the physical universe, produced by Kyle Crownover (Adeem The Artist). The album is a spiritual journey from Russell’s Knoxville hometown to Nashville, the great unknown, and back again, all while expressing gratitude to the Earth and its provisions.
Where The Flowers Meet The Dew Track list:
What You Want Comes To You
I Thought I Was The Trees
Milk & Honey
Take Me Back To Tennessee
Die To Myself
Born Again
Playing House
Back To Dirt
Nothin To Haul
What I Know Now
“I was watching people like Tyler Childers and others like Charley Crockett in the scene build these real-lasting fan bases. They were all doing it away from Nashville, which intersected with Nashville as it had to do with business, stuff, and the music itself. But the core fanbase was being built everywhere else,” says Zach. “So, I was like, I’m leaving this town. I produce music about the mountains and country music. Why would you do that in the biggest metropolis in the southeast? You know? Being surrounded by concrete and cars. It makes more sense to be somewhere where you can draw your own unique inspiration. If you want to stand out and actually do something.”
“I went to MTSU near Nashville, and I went to college with people that have number one radio singles, and they’d be lucky to sell 30 tickets in most markets, and it’s just that everything there, it’s like gasoline fire, you know, it just burns up and goes out.” Zach seeks things more sustainable and more authentic. More genuine.
Zach hooked up with his old pal Kyle (who he met at MTSU and ended up being roommates). After they graduated they both moved to Nashville. Just kind of following suit with what everybody else was doing at that time. Kyle was a songwriter but started producing his own music with another guy that they went to school with, Robby Artresss. And, somewhere along the line, they made some records. After those first couple of singles, they did not stop, and thats’s how Where The Flowers Meet The Dew came to be.
“I reached out to my producer and my engineer, Kyle Crownover and Robby Artress. And just kind of got some possible dates together and started to fill in the band in. Then we just ran it straight pretty much. The whole record’s cut live in the studio,” says Kyle. “Me and Kyle worked together on it picking songs that I’d written knowing what was going to go on there and kind of what all fit together. And yeah, just kind of made the damn thing.”
“At MTSU,” Zach says, “It was all this talk about building your own clique and rising together as opposed to trying to claw your way into circles that have already made it.”
Zach, Kyle, and Robby did just that. They have the opportunity to record with some greats now and share industry knowledge with the best while staying vital to their core values and key friendships. A new approach to an age-old cutthroat music industry mentality.
The record’s first half has traditional waltzes, haunting electric folk, and 60s R&B style cuts. It’s deep and mellow, and the lyrics are contemplative. It draws you in while keeping the listener from getting too comfortable. The back half of the record brings with it an altogether different vibe. Greasy, distorted guitar licks pepper the back half of Where the Flowers Meet the Dew.
Fans can check out “Born Again” now and pre-order or pre-save Where The Flowers Meet The Dew ahead of its December 1st release via Thirty Tigers right here.
For ticket information, please visit zachrussellmusic.com/tour.
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