ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Over a dozen songwriters have banded together for an album to benefit the food distribution charity MANNA FoodBank.
MANNA was one of the businesses, homes and organizations impacted by Hurricane Helene last fall.
“Their entire Swannanoa River warehouse was completely gutted, and then their headquarters was also destroyed,” recalled local songwriter and musician Guy Smith. “But, I saw news reports that, inside of a couple days, they were getting food to people who no longer had a kitchen to cook in because they didn’t have a home anymore.”
Smith is the producer of “The Flood: Music for MANNA,” a new compilation album intended to benefit the food bank. The project unites 14 different artists on 14 different tracks to create a mosaic of survival songs. Proceeds from the digital album, out April 30, will go to support MANNA.
“The fact that MANNA was feeding people during the height of the crisis just impressed me, and I said, I got to do what I can to help them,” Smith shared. “The one thing that I knew was the local music scene, the local songwriters and the art of recording from the engineering standpoint. And so, I just started putting out the feelers to get in all local songwriters that had original songs that could memorialize the disaster itself and use that as a way of getting attention to MANNA.”
Smith tasked his songwriters with telling a story they wrote about the disaster. He said that the results fell broadly into three emotional categories: dismay, helping people and gratitude.
“I asked everyone to find their emotional center of gravity and base their songs around that,” Smith said. “In fact, if you go to theflood.music and you go to the songwriter’s page, they each provided a paragraph or two about what it was that motivated them to write the songs.”
“The Flood” is a mix of musical genres, from country tracks to singer/songwriter ballads and alternative rock songs.
The first track, “What Remains” by Hayley Everett, is a haunting, spare account of the hurricane.
“When we’re stripped to the bedrock/Oooh/What remains is love,” croons Everett, blending with another female voice and a low, eerie whine.
“What Remains” is followed by the bluesy, harmonica-forward “What Kind of Hell” by Jay Brown. The song compares “that mean Helene” to a thieving lover.
“She kicked me hard/When I was down/I wish she never came around/I have nothing left/Beyond my breath,” Brown mourns.
Meanwhile, songs like “Drowning Culture,” by Grady Hunter and Otis Goodwin, coat the tragedy in Nirvana-esque alternative rock. The track begins gently against a strumming guitar and a funky rhythm section before erupting into an electric riff in its last moments.
The resulting compilation is a powerful statement of coalition. The blend of voices, genres and instrumentation is representative of how the region itself responded after the flood.
Smith emphasized that the project was meant to highlight the perseverance of MANNA and the important work the charity is still doing.
“The main thing is that they took a major hit. They got pushed back a few notches,” Smith said. “Every penny that goes to them goes to feeding people who are still digging their way out.”
“The Flood: Music for MANNA” will be available to stream on digital platforms April 30. For more information, visit www.theflood.music.
To donate to MANNA FoodBank or for more information about the charity, visit donate.mannafoodbank.org.