Lots of hard work, endurance, and the strong desire to succeed in all aspects of her life enabled Carrie Day to become who she is today: A loving mom, a talented artist and a passionate musician. Combine classical components with acoustic roots, well-crafted lyrics with melodies that soar, and you have the sound of Carrie Day. The Edmonton-based performing songwriter is about to embark on an exciting new journey with the release of her third full length album, Immaculate Night. In 2009 Carrie was a recipient of the RAWLCO 10K20 grant which enabled her to record, mix and master Immaculate Night at Sound Extractor Studio with Stew Kirkwood. The album, which is due for release in October 2010, contains all the elements that make a record both commercially appealing and artistically enchanting. It opens with the catchy, get-up-and-dance number, “Good Day”, and takes the listener on a musical journey of stories that evoke smiles and toe taps, tears and sways. Most magical is the song “A Glimpse of Heaven”, which was written for Day's daughter, Sadie. It includes the angelic voices of a children's choir, put together by Carrie and of which Sadie was a member. Wrapping up the album is the final track, “Divine Immaculate Night”; a haunting composition that narrates the story of a homeless man in Mumbai. As a pianist and guitarist, Carrie has spent a great deal of time perfecting her craft. Attention to dynamics and organic sounds has become her trademark. With a style of her own, Carrie’s sound may be described as a cross between Joni Mitchell and Cat Power. She is an emotionally charged artist with an exuberant stage presence, and a keen ability to capture listeners, make them chuckle, and warm their hearts. She is a poet, a singer, a songwriter and a storyteller. As audience member and music writer, Fraser Wareham has said: “when you get the chance to hear Carrie sing live, you truly appreciate the power and depth of this voice. Carrie belongs in large concert halls.” DAY FOR NIGHT – Roger Levesque with the Edmonton Journal Carrie Day admits she's a night person. That must explain her new CD Immaculate Night. It starts with a fun, upbeat pop-folk tune Good Day, but after that it's filled with the imagery of night. While the Edmonton artist -- formerly known as Carrie Hryniw -- showed a lot of potential on her two previous releases, this third time out Day has really found her groove as a singer and songwriter. "On this album I'm a little bit all over the map," she admits, "but I kind of liked that. It was about letting go of the reins and any inhibitions, to let whatever happens just happen creatively." One of the first things you notice are the excellent production values, aided by funding from a Rawlco Radio grant and Stew Kirkwood's Sound Extractor studio. Lindsay Woolgar's bass and Alex Boudreau's guitar fit just right with Day's keyboards or occasional guitar, core parts of a longer cast that also features cameos from trumpeter Bob Tildesley and clarinetist Don Ross. But ultimately the most alluring thing about Immaculate Night is Day herself -- the way she has channelled raw emotion into such seemingly casual but polished phrasing, the gentle melodies and appealing hooks of the songs, and the lyrics themselves, which take a broader view of the world inside and out than anything she's done before. "I had a writing spurt that seemed effortless -- I almost feel as if I can't take credit for it -- and I wrote a lot of songs I had wanted to write or tried to write for years beforehand." Two numbers, End of the War and White Flag Waving, came about from recurring nightmares of being in a war zone and moving beyond it. A Glimpse of Heaven is for her six-year-old daughter, while Prisoner of Your Mind is dedicated to insomniacs. Other songs encourage you to love and dream, while the final title tune is a moving ballad inspired by the death of a homeless man, something Day witnessed on a street in India a decade ago. Time and wider performance experience have really paid off in new confidence for Day, a University of Alberta music grad, single mom and music teacher.