Renmin Park

VINYL FORMAT. With the release of Renmin Park, Cowboy Junkies are beginning their most ambitious period yet. In late 2008, Michael Timmins and his family were given an opportunity to spend three months in China. Renmin Park is a reflection of his family's adventure in that country. It's another chapter in a band's ongoing twenty-five year journey. Renmin Park (translated, it means "People's Park," as found in every Chinese town) is a celebration of the sights, sounds, and characters of Jingjiang, a small town (by Chinese standards) situated on the Yangtze River, about two hours from Shanghai. Several of the tracks were actually built on loops made from field recordings Michael made in China where he recorded a myriad of sounds from music and conversations to badminton games to students chanting their lessons or performing their morning calisthenics. The album also includes covers of songs by two of the country's most important rock artists —"I Cannot Sit Sadly By Your Side" by Zuoxiao Zuzhou (ZXZZ) and Xu Wei's "My Fall." "Renmin Park is a fictional love story about two people whose two worlds will forever keep them apart," says the guitarist. "It's a thank-you letter to an obscure city and the people who opened up their lives to five very strange strangers. It's a document about a bewilderingly complex culture that is, once again, experiencing a massive upheaval." – Michael Timmins