When you first listen to one of Elena’s performances, you will probably wonder from which old or folk record or songbook she dug her repertoire. Following the leads of Elena Yeung is an active contributor to the “new traditional†sound, echoing the folk, bluegrass and mountain traditions of Pete Seeger, Ola Belle Reed, and Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, emphasizing her driving banjo style.
Yeung’s debut CD, The Gravedigger’s Daughter, features 11 original songs that range from fast and furious picking to mournful lullaby. Her lyrical storytelling and haunting vocal style reflect upon hardship, longing and life lessons of the human condition, both past and present. Mixed and mastered by Nashville-based Miles Wilkinson, The Gravedigger’s Daughter includes a lineup of Greg Spatz (of John Reischman & the Jaybirds and Mighty Squirrel) on fiddle and mandolin, Mark Koenig (1992 Juno nominee for his song The Lonesome Kind) on guitar and vocals, Gary Snow on bass and vocals, and Caridwen Irvine-Spatz (Mighty Squirrel) on fiddle and vocals.
Originally from the farming community of Carberry, Manitoba, Yeung has moved across Canada over the past 10 years in search of The Canadian Identity, living in Regina, SK, Kingston, ON, St. John’s, NF, Williams Lake, BC, and briefly in Inuvik, NWT, before settling most recently in the Creston Valley. The release of The Gravedigger’s Daughter was followed by a nationwide tour, an opportunity for Yeung to promote her new CD as well as re-visit her many homes.
Yeung’s song “On That Good Road†was recorded by the Vancouver bluegrass trio Redgrass and is featured as the title track on their 2007 debut CD. She was featured on CBC radio’s North By Northwest on August 17, 2008 and has since enjoyed national airplay on CBC's Radio 2 Drive, as well as local and provincial stations across Canada.
"Picking her way to the top of everyone's must-have music list...(Elena) has momentum to become a legendary creative artist in the Canadian music industry" - i love creston magazine
"In her debut CD, Elena Yeung serves up a heapin' helpin' of original recipes. Well-crafted lyrics tell simple yet vivid stories, while her infectious melodies and tasty 5-string banjo will keep you coming back for more" - Doug Ritchie, Prairie Pickin', CJSR FM 88.5, Edmonton
"(The Gravedigger's Daughter) is the sound that comes to you during a sleepless night...it is the freight train in a blizzard" - Rich Terfry, CBC Radio 2 Drive
"...Yeung nails the old-timey/bluegrass genre to the wall. (The Gravedigger's Daughter) shows off a fine songwriter and banjo player who musically harkens older, gentler times" - The Province
"Yeung is definitely worth catching when she comes to a town near yours...this album could help you get through the end of a long Canadian winter" - Penguin Eggs
"This is a nice little debut for a voice that just might be on the verge of finding its place in the world" - Exclaim magazine
