EDMONTON -- Brother-sister duo The Reklaws have gone back to their roots to come up with a song that is popular and timely given the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s called Where I’m From, and the award-winning group says reflecting on the positives in your life is what people should be focused on right now, like they’ve been doing.
"It’s kind of allowed us to stop and reminisce how far we’ve come," says Jenna Walker.
"We’ve just been on a fast forward through life ever since things kind of started to work out and now we’ve had a chance to stop and slow down and appreciate each other. Appreciate the people in our lives and appreciate the journey a little more.”
Jenna and Stuart Walker are from Cambridge, Ont. and grew up in a family of seven.
Their musical career started out when they dressed as hillbillies and played songs for tourists at pig races.
Since then, the brother and sister duo has won Canadian Country Music Awards, been nominated for Junos and have released a string of hit songs including Long Live the Night, which is the theme for the CFL’s Friday Night Football games. However, the pair says Where I’m From is their favourite song they’ve written.
“Other people have reached out to want to cut it and we had to turn them down,” says Jenna. “That one we just had to do. It was just totally us.”
The song was written over a year ago, and the Reklaws (which is Walker spelled backwards) debated whether to put it out now.
“We were like for a moment ‘Should we release It during the pandemic? Should we wait for the shows so we can sell it more?’ and we’re likem 'No, people need to hear this right now,'” says Stuart.
The two say the message in Where I’m From is important right now and how people need to hang on to their memories and appreciate family more than ever.
“I think it’s just humbling to be able to work with someone who knows you so deeply who knows your whole life," says Jenna. “Your head doesn’t get too big, everything kind of stays the same."
Although they say with touring on hold, this year will definitely be different for them.
“We are just trying to take it with a grain of salt and make the most of everyday,” says Stuart. “We will write a lot and learn new things like the banjo and stuff. But it definitely is going to be an interesting summer compared to past ones for sure.”
