"CONFIDENTIAL"

Hot on the heels of If Wishes Were Horses is Lorna's newest project, Confidential. While Horses was not even out of the starting gate, Lorna started writing new full-length album project.

Confidential was initially conceived as a companion project to follow in the intimate mellow style of If Wishes Were Horses. The original aim was to create an acoustic album that highlighted her songwriting abilitites with intimate compositions in a variety of styles. The album soon grew and grew into a plush, big sounding, high-production album featuring driving rhythms, orchestral backing, and rowdy upbeat anthems. Showcasing her songwriting skills, Confidential runs the gamut of styles, from her playful GoGoish pop-rock, to a jazz composition that harkens to Cole Porter, some R&B seduction, and an country-western power duet with Toronto roots-rock artist Christopher Dunn.

Continuing in her tradition of first-person lyrical narratives, Confidential, perhaps more so than her previous works, playfully explores the complexities of her persona exploring themes of love, faith, social angst, and waderlust, in a series of up-tempo pop rock. "Outside the Window" is a prayer, "I Still Believe" laments the lost love, "Persuasion" is a silly ditty about the dimwittedness of being in the thrall of a lustful crush, "Hide Away" agues the case of a would-be-wallflower who dreads parties.

Lorna's most mainstream oeuvre to date has radio-friendly beats and - for a bit of a departure - a hint of alt-country reminicent of the Canadian band Blue Rodeo. Mastered at the grammy-winning studios of Ocean Way (R.E.M., Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton), it features lush production, big sound, earnest composition, and returns to Lorna's alt-pop folk-rock roots.

"IF WISHES WERE HORSES"

Lorna's second album, If Wishes Were Horses, was released in June 2002 and was honoured with a 2003 OutMusic Award Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Artist. If Wishes Were Horses was launched at a multi-media event held at the Victorian-era industrial site of the historic Gooderham and Worts Distillery. The catered event featured a string quartet, an exhibit by local visual artists, vintage wines from Niagara Region wineries, an oyster bar, and an opportunity to explore the architecture of Canada's oldest distillery.

Early on in the planning stages, Lorna decided that this album would be self-produced, giving her greater control of the project. With her independent record label, Jabali Entertainment, Lorna no longer felt alone in the musical landscape of this new recording. The goal was to have fun with the new project.

The album quickly drew praise for its quietly touching character. Comparissions to Paula Cole and Emmylou Harris floated around in print and on-line, and the album was described as a love letter that draws the listener in from start to finish as if journeying through a quiet-yet-tumultuous love affair.

"TASTE"

Like many artists recording their first, full-length albums, Lorna discovered quickly that Taste was to be a monumental task. She felt overwhelmed throughout the project, but found reassurance and support from long-time band members -- like bassist D'Arcy McGuire -- who stalwartly maintained his faith in her music. Taste was exhausting to co-produce. The recording schedule was arduous and physically demanding with long hours spent in the recording studio.

Taste was also artistically challenging with the production team frequently having dissenting opinions over the stylistic elements of Lorna's music. Though she had a skillful producer who ensured high quality production values, she felt that a fundamental communication rapport with him was missing. This was exemplified during one particularly long recording session: Exhausted, Lorna broke down crying while singing the melancholy song, "Table for One." Concentrating her efforts, she managed to complete the take. The producer then asked her: "Can we do it again... this time with more feeling?"

Despite the occasional contentions on elements of style, the album was drawn together and engineered with lush sonic renderings that give the album a distinct acoustic carriage that compliments Lorna's husky, velvet vocals and intimate lyrics.

Rewarding the backbreaking efforts of Lorna and her crew, fan response to the 1999/2000 release of Taste was outstanding! With the title song, featured on two film soundtracks, Lorna developed an international fan base. Unexpectedly, the song "Taste" reached #15 in the Top 20 in Lebanon where it shared radio air-time with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Moby, Three Doors Down, Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, and Dido.

"GYPSY SESSIONS"

Lorna's debut recording, Gypsy Sessions was a fun, small project recorded at Gypsy Sound and B. Musique, not long after she arrived to stay in Canada. Containing a few of her most popular performance staples, the EP quickly sold out which was the encouragement Lorna needed to commit herself to a larger project - the album, Taste.