Just like the sky and waters of the Great Southern Ocean, where Shane Howard was raised and resides, his latest CD, ‘Deeper South’, features songs full of music and poetry that are deep and dark, yet illuminated by great shafts of light. For 35 years Shane Howard’s songs have mapped the human spirit and the Australian landscape. That landscape has been populated with rivers; raging rivers in flood, desert rivers running dry, deep rivers winding or forging their way to the sea. With ‘Deeper South’, these rivers are unbound and finally find their way to the sea. The musical landscape is as vast, mysterious and powerful as the Southern Ocean and Howard has found his true musical home. He is at his best.This is an album that redefines the boundaries of Australian folk music and reinvigorates it with poetic and musical mastery. The musical influences are as diverse as jazz, blues, country, Australian folk music and the deep well of traditional Celtic music.