Braving the Atlantic marries rhythmic, post-rock guitar squalls with a no-nonsense pop sensibility that sounds equally at home on mainstream radio and in hipster dive bars.
Released in August 2010, Braving the Atlantic’s debut EP “Ignition” grew from years of carefully honed songwriting and months of meticulous studio work by Denver-based songwriter/singer/guitarist/mastermind Dave Hedin. Along the way, he enlisted some of the best producers and studio musicians in Colorado to help him shape the sound. The result is a memorable collection that draws inspiration from arena rockers like Snow Patrol, Switchfoot and U2 as well as lesser-known guitar heroes like Longwave and Abandoned Pools.
Dave dreamed up the chords and melodies after suffering a devastating layoff from the marketing department of a major music label in New York City. Feeling crushed by the business side of the music industry, he set out to establish himself as a professional songwriter.
He sketched out the songs in his apartment in a working-class Queens neighborhood, put them on hold to help a friend launch a fledgling recording studio in Colorado, and finished the music after moving into a sleepy Denver neighborhood. In the meantime, he paid the bills by writing absurdly catchy jingles for real estate companies (Metro Brokers) and movie theater chains (Cinemark and Regal theaters).
Sensing the time to finish the songs had arrived, Dave escaped to the Rockies, locked himself in a ramshackle cabin near the Continental Divide and hammered out the lyrics in a week. The contrasting settings for the songwriting process shine through in the music: The sound combines gritty, arpeggiated drum hits and guitar blasts with effortless, mountain-sized vocal hooks.
In the studio, Dave’s guitar-based anthems blossomed to include glockenspiel flourishes and layers of synthesizer. While he played most of the instruments on “Ignition,” the EP features memorable contributions from bassist Jimmy Stofer (The Fray, Rose Hill Drive) and drummer Brian McRae, a Denver favorite.
Dave had crafted a unique sound and completed six impressive tracks, but the project needed a name. Dave settled on Braving the Atlantic – an admittedly unexpected name for a Colorado artist – after drawing inspiration from biographies of legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh and the first trans-Atlantic flight.
“For whatever reason, I really related emotionally to what Lindbergh did, to taking on a monumental and ludicrous challenge that seemed impossible,” Dave said. “I had no band. I’d been really let down by the music industry. And yet I felt this drive to take what I’d learned about making music over the past decade and throw myself into songwriting. The name Braving the Atlantic makes sense to me.”
