The artist Damien DeRose (alias Peasant) tragically passed away 10 years ago. Producer Joe Ujj took it upon himself to sift through almost 400 songs and make them available to us as a kind of obituary. Joe and other Peasant fans have added instruments to the stripped-down songs, breathing new life into them, and the result is stunning. I think Damien would be proud to hear it. ‘Coyote Run’ is just one of the songs on ‘Lost Recordings Part Three,’ and it inspires me once again. My thanks also go to Damien’s mum for making this possible. All proceeds go to a non-profit that she started in 2017: http://www.stillsinging.org To find out more about the artist and Joe, have a look at the Q&A below!

What is the story behind Joe Ujj and the artist Peasant?
I first heard a Peasant song on MySpace around 2003, I messaged him and to my surprise he got right back to me. Turns out that he lived 15 minutes away from me, I thought he was from some faraway land.
He then started to open up for my band playing solo sets, he could amazingly shut up a rowdy room full of people. His parents had to come to these shows since he was still a teenager, I built a close relationship with them all. I was so excited when he asked to record stuff with me after the release of his „Bound For Glory“ record on Schnitzel Records. We got together every Thursday night from 7pm to 10pm, he would write a song in 20-30 minutes then we put it on tape.
He let me add whatever I wanted to them after he left which is rare because he usually wrote all the parts to his songs. These recordings ended up being the record „Home“, he sadly passed away just after finishing up mixing this with me. You can hear that record here: https://robotrecordings1.bandcamp.com/album/home

„Lost Recordings Part Three“ is a fantastic album, how much work was it to select the right songs from the many recordings that Damien DeRose sadly left behind?
That’s a great question, my friend Lee and I went through hundreds of files, it took multiple 8 hour sessions to sift through all of it. It was not easy, there were a lot of files that were the same songs with different names or different versions, also with different names. But, in general, I picked songs that hit us right away. There were many great songs that I couldn’t believe hadn’t been released already.
Some songs had imperfections that perhaps Damien thought couldn’t be fixed but, the songs were so good, I did everything I could to make them work. There were tracks that already had him playing multiple instruments and singing multiple harmony vocals. I was so happy to find those.

Besides ‚Coyote Run‘ which songs would you recommend to listen to first and in general what would be the right song/album to get to know Damien musically?
I think people should start their Peasant experience with the first song on his first album On The Ground released on Paper Garden Records, Track 1 „The Wind“. If you’re not hooked and looking for more after that track then you should be listening to some other type of music. It is so beautiful, sung with such ease that it just makes you feel warm and safe.

What was the most difficult part of producing the album, apart from the sadness that is always present?
I think trying to decide whether or not Damien would like what we were doing to a particular song.
I was really going by our previous musical experiences together and I feel, as strange as it sounds that I was looking for a sign or feeling from him. I talk to him a lot when I’m recording or mixing, just asking if he thinks this part is good or not. I know that sounds weird but, I believe that he really likes what we’re doing.
Especially after adding new instruments to a song and all of a sudden it just grows into something that no one could’ve imagined.

What is the best memory you have of Damien?
It was the last time I saw him. We just did final touches to most of the songs on „Home“.
We took a break and sat out on my deck off of the main bedroom, it overlooks this cool winding creek. We sat together, we didn’t say anything for a while, just listened to the water and looked at the trees in the wind. He said,“This is all I want, this exact thing, to have love, children, nature, peace.“