The Critchleys are brothers Owen and Spencer Critchley, born in Canada, raised in Bermuda, and now living in Nova Scotia (Owen) and California (Spencer).
We first worked together in Bermuda, and then in Toronto, where our band Aceboy, with Owen on vocals and Spencer on guitar, was signed to a publishing and artist development contract with Warner-Chappell Music. We also wrote and recorded music for CBC shows and other projects, while Spencer contributed to some of those shows as a writer-broadcaster.
Then we moved farther afield: Spencer to California, where his projects included working with pop star and innovator Thomas Dolby at his Beatnik tech startup and composing the soundtrack for the Emmy-winning film Blink, and Owen back to Bermuda. There Owen wrote and produced songs for hit Island artists the Kennel Boys, and music used in film, TV, playlists, and compilations across the world.
"Nova Scotia's Lonely," about leaving a place you can't leave behind, brought us back together. Spencer began writing it with singer-songwriter Bob Rea, and later on, Owen joined in. We recorded tracks for the song at Joel Plaskett's Fang studio in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with Don Ross on guitar and Leith Fleming-Smith on keyboards. Owen then added his vocals (and a tin whistle solo) at his home studio overlooking Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. Spencer mixed the song while overlooking Monterey Bay back in California.
The renewed collaboration felt so good that we decided to keep going, as The Critchleys. "Nova Scotia's Lonely" is the first of many songs to come.