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"The hardest thing about this record wasn't finding the funding or recording it, but giving it a name," says Andrew Walker of his first solo CD, Floating Shift. "I didn't want to name it at all, it seemed more like a 'best of', but 'floating shift' is an ambiguous enough term to capture all the styles that have made it on to the record." Indeed, Floating Shift is an excellent name for a bunch of songs that contain elements of rock, pop, folk and altcountry that, for a change, are not disposable. These songs show Andrew's evolution from former "rock-it-out" lead man for the acclaimed alt/roots quartet, The Mummbleducks, to an insightful solo singer/songwriter.
The album itself was more a process than a project, taking a couple of years to complete and showcasing an interesting array of musicians. Not the least of the musically (and personally) interesting characters to lend their talents to Walker's foray on this solo CD was an American rock legend, himself a talented songwriter, bass player Tim Drummond. The non-musicologist types may not recognize the name, but loyal followers of Bob Dylan and Neil Young will recognize not only the name, but Drummond's signature bass style. Canadian musicians who backed Andrew on the album include guitarist Colin Cripps (JunkHouse, Jim Cuddy Band), drummer Gavin Brown (Big Sugar) and pedal steel guitarist Kim Deschamps (Cowboy Junkies, Blue Rodeo, Los Lobos).
Floating Shift started from one song catching the ear of Frazier Mohawk (aka Barry Friedman), expatriate American and founder of the Buffalo Springfield. One song lead to another, and soon Andrew was working with recording engineer/producer Jeff McMurrich (Danko Jones) to record a full-length album. "It's been a real treat working with Jeff," says Andrew, "he has helped me out immeasurably with my whole studio approach. In many ways he helped these recordings reflect the type of artist I am". The song which started it all was OLD 81, reminiscent of that great Canadian balladeer, Gordon Lightfoot. Based on one of the small Ontario towns which Andrew occupied in his youth, and which have occupied him ever since.