Ten years ago this summer, Juno award-winning folk artist James Keelaghan and soon-to-be Juno-winning Latin guitarist Oscar Lopez released an album that would become one of the most notable independent Canadian roots recordings of the late 90’s Compadres, as they called the project, sold over 15,000 copies independently, earned a Juno nomination for Best Roots and Traditional Album – Group, and received critical praise from coast to coast. It also launched Vancouver’s Jericho Beach Music label – now home to the Wailin’ Jennys and Tanya Tagaq among other renowned Canadian acts.    Compadres was an early example of the kind of Canadian world fusion that has taken off in recent years. “Celtino,” as Keelaghan and Lopez half-jokingly dubbed their hybrid, fused the sometimes rollicking sometimes melancholy Celtic influences behind Keelaghan’s folk material with the fiery guitar vibe of Lopez’s work. Lopez’s playing injected energy and edginess into Keelaghan’s smooth baritone, while Keelaghan’s skillful song-craft created a superb structure for Lopez’s amazing guitar work.      Lopez and Keelaghan toured the project through the summer and fall of 1997, playing to large and enthusiastic crowds and earning a place in the record books as only the second local act ever to sell out Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall. But as quickly as the Compadres project took off, it was forced to end. Lopez had recently signed the recording contract with Narada that would make him an international star, restricting his ability to release the album outside of Canada and limiting his ability to tour it.    Now, ten years later, the Compadres are back in more ways than one. Following a highly successful winter tour of Australia and New Zealand, they have recorded a brand new album featuring the same wild, passionate and downright fun Latin-Celtic numbers as its predecessor - along with a similar compliment of superb instrumentals and evocative ballads. What’s more, the lyrics, choice of material and overall tone of the album pay tribute to the power of the Keelaghan Lopez musical friendship in helping both artists recover from personal and creative setbacks.    Lopez in particular has spent the past few years working his way back from a major health crisis during which he ceased recording and performing almost completely for over three years. For a period of time he left the music business all together. Keelaghan may not lay claim to quite the same experience of personal hardship, but it’s no secret that recent years have found him in a more reflective mood as he’s “struggled with his muse” and returned to his musical roots in search of new inspiration.    Compadres, it seems, was just what both musical friends needed to inspire a stellar return to form.   The appropriately-titled “Buddy Where You Been?” opens with the rip-roaring anthem “Rumba Compadres” before moving into the equally danceable title track, with its allusions to traveling “to the gates of hell.” The third cut, “Gathering Storm,” is a moving new ballad that sees Keelaghan’s songwriting chops in fine form. Its chorus of “blow blow the winds of change / knock me down and I’ll rise again” pretty well sums up the album’s theme. Also included on the disc are Celtinofied renditions of “Ring,” from Keelaghan’s 1999 album “Road”, and of the traditional number “Flower of Margherally,” from his 2001 album “Home”. Lopez too remakes some meaningful pieces from his past; namely the moving “Guitarras” and the impassioned “Dos Mundos” - the latter originally recorded as an “instruvocal” track called “Mundos” but reworked as an instrumental and retitled (“Two Worlds”) in honour of Keelaghan’s collaboration. Lopez also showcases his expressive guitar style on some new instrumental numbers including the beautifully evocative “Kia Ora.” The album closes with the unapologetically cheeky “Summer,” which offers a glimpse of the sillier side of the compadres’ friendship.  James Keelaghan and Oscar Lopez met over 15 years ago now on a flight to the Northern Lights Folk Festival in Sudbury. Both emerging artists at the time, each would go on to become a leading figure in his respective genre. James is a Juno winner, a three-time Juno nominee and a two-time winner of the U.S.A. Songwriting Competition’s folk category. He has performed with the Calgary Philharmonic and Edmonton Symphony Orchestras, and he continues to tour regularly in North America, Europe and Australia where he plays prestigious festivals like Tonder in Denmark and Port Fairy in Australia. He has received critical praise everywhere from the Globe and Mail to the Los Angeles Reader, Boston Globe and Playboy Magazine. A native of Calgary, James began performing in coffee houses in the early 80s while studying history at the U of C. Though he was still three credits short of his degree when the music career “took over,” the history studies paid off, as his historically-themed songs earned him international acclaim on the folk circuit.    Oscar is a two-time Juno winner, a three-time nominee and the recipient of the SOCAN Hagood Hardy Jazz/Instrumental Music Award. He has performed with the Calgary Philharmonic and the Edmonton, Saskatoon and Windsor Symphony Orchestras. Born in Santiago, Chile, Oscar moved to Canada in 1979, having already had a #1 hit in his homeland in ‘73 as part of the group The Grace of the King. Here he journeyed through several musical styles before settling into the passionate Latin jazz/pop instrumental fusion that has become his trademark. His first three releases for Narada landed in the Top 20 on the Billboard New Age charts, and “Seduction” earned him a Prairie Music Award for Instrumentalist of the Year.  Ali Farka Toure described him as “magnifique.”   Oscar and James first began performing occasionally as Compadres in the early 90s. Today, their friendship represents an unlikely yet fabulous-sounding fusion of two unique Canadian musical giants.  
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