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Laura Peek released From the Photographs in April 2007 on Just Friends Records. This astounding LP is Laura Peek's first full-length album and it also marks pop icon Mike O'Neill's (The Inbreds) first venture into producing. The album features melodic pop songs with dark undertones, using a "less is more" production approach that focuses on Peek's unique voice and songwriting. From the Photographs was engineered by Charles Austin (The Super Friendz) and features a small, tight-knit cast of musicians, including both O'Neill and Austin.
Mike O'Neill is now officially a Winning Heart, having taken over bass duties when the original bassist moved away. Also, since he sings like a spring robin in a peach tree, he will be an invaluable aid on Peek's journey to pop song perfection.
Last summer, The Winning Hearts toured from the Maritimes to Ontario in support of From the Photographs. While in Toronto, the group shot a video for "Stand Right There" with Juno-winning director Ante Kovac (Joel Plaskett, Sarah Harmer). The video, which features a supporting cast of actor-cats in party hats, was a suprise Youtube hit; it has collected over 294,000 views thus far.
Though From the Photographs was Peek's debut album, she has been an integral part of the Halifax music scene for over six years. She plays in Brent Randall and his Pinecones and also in Mike O'Neill's new band, The Beginners. In the summer of 2006, she toured Canada and the United States as a vocalist/multi-instrumentalist with Buck 65.
From the Photographs peaked several times at 1 on CKDU (Halifax), and reached 9 on the national Earshot chart. Sneak Peek, Laura's 2004 EP, made the CKDU chart for 11 weeks straight, peaking twice at 1 and ranked 7 on the station's 2005 year-end chart. The Winning Hearts have played at Over the Top Fest (2008), Pop Montreal (2007), the Halifax Pop Explosion (2004, 2006, 2007), and North by Northeast (2005). Peek has opened for Final Fantasy, The Besnard Lakes, Julie Doiron, The Acorn, The Meligrove Band, Bella, and Immaculate Machine.
And so, keeping her accomplishments and goals in mind, Peek ventures forth into the much-vaunted "artistic life", with her hand on a kitty cat and her ear on a melody.
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