How Ferris & Sylvester earned their joy

After touring an album processing loneliness, a life-threatening trip to Nashville for folk duo Ferris & Sylvester led to a celebration on their new record It’s A Joy To Be Alive. It’s another heatwave and she and her husband Archie Sylvester join from the coolest spot in their house to talk about new record It’s A Joy To Be Alive, an album born from one of the most traumatic experiences a couple could go through.Playing Nashville’s Americanafest in 2022, 33 weeks pregnant, Ferris developed preeclampsia and was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. It’s only now, four years later and after the birth of their second child that they’re ready to process the experience. The result is a record of soulful Americana that embraces both the sentimentality and the power of harmony.Both Ferris and Sylvester come from similar musical backgrounds, growing up on their dads’ record collections and playing in local bars underage. “I was raised on Jimmy Hendrix, Peter Green and guitar heroes, really,” Sylvester says. “I would steal my dad's CDs. He had a great CD collection. I would take his CDs out, listen to them, and then I was digitalising them, putting them on an iPod. He was angry w...