Portland Stories is an effort made by Heather Woods Broderick (who is a member of the Efterklang live band and recently released her debut solo album on the Preservation label) to capture the simple beauty of some lovely musicians in her hometown of Portland, Oregon.

Portland is blooming with music. Music on the streets, on front porches, in venues around the city, in basements, coffee shops, record stores, etc. It's a city that is truly embracing music. And for this compilation Heather sought out to document a small, quiet corner of that music world in a very simple way. She road her bike to the homes of eight different people with a simple 4 track recorder and pressed record, whether in be on the front porch or in the living room.

The result is a strikingly beautiful set of nine songs (including one by Heather herself). Sparse, warm, touching, honest music. Songs that make a nod to the old world of simple folk music but stay true to the time we're living in now.

(Peter Broderick)