Yung releases sophomore disk

Samara Yung is back with her second full-length country CD.

July Rain was released only a few weeks ago, a release Yung said she was happy to see since it was more than three years since her debut disk came out.

"I got married in 2010. That probably put it back about a year because that took up a lot of our time," she explained.

The second disk also took more time simply because Yung's experience demanded things be done as well as possible. In that regard she said the sophomore disk was actually harder than her first effort to get ready for the public.

"The first one I didn't really know a lot about the whole process," said Yung, adding having more insight into the recording process had her more involved, and that meant investing more time.

It is time Yung said was worthwhile.

"I'm very proud of the first album. I love everything that's on it," she said. "But, this album is more mature We know a lot more now than we did the first time around

"I just really tried to make it who I am as a person, and who I am as an artist."

As an artist Yung said she has clearly grown. On the debut disk she had her hand in writing some of the material.

This time around 11 of the songs have her as a co-writer, and she added she had a bigger role this time around.

Yung said songwriting is a challenge in the sense a performer wants something new.

"Life is complicated but singing really isn't," she said. "But, you always want to come up with a new spin on an old idea."

"There's a lot of ideas that I had," she said, adding this time she was taking much more to the collaborative process, making July Rain a more personal disk.

One song that is closely personal is I Wonder Why.

"Dad (Murray), and I wrote the song. That's really cool to me," said Yung.

Yung explained they were on a camping trip in July, and it was raining.

"Dad had his guitar with him," she recalled, adding he offered up a "little riff Some words came to my head and that's the song that came out of it."

Take My Picture also holds a special place for Yung.

"We danced to it as the first dance at our wedding," she said. "It wasn't intentionally written for that purpose, but it was perfect for it."

Then there is Mardi Gras, the song which is the subject of Yung's first video.

Shooting the video in Abbortsford, B.C. is an experience Yung said "was amazing.

"I like to say it was the best day of my life next to my wedding."

It was also a day tinged with fear, although Yung said her experience with Saskatchewan Express, and high school musicals helped her get through the shoot.

"I was really nervous," she said, adding she wanted to do it right. "As a performer I shoot for perfection every time, or as close to it as possible."

Yung hopes the video will introduce her face to more fans, adding they are sending it to CMT, and crossing their fingers it gets picked up.

Yung said the video was made easier having Stephano Barberis on-board as director. Barberis is a multiple Canadian Country Music Association winner.

The lone song Yung did not have a hand in writing is a cover of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi. She said the song is one her and her father have performed for years.

"It was kind of cool to do another Saskatchewan singer's song," she said.

While only out a few short weeks, Yung said response to July Rain has been very good, having been picked up by more stations than any other Canadian CD released the same day.

In the months ahead Yung said the real work starts as she wants to tour more extensively to promote the disk.

July Rain is available through iTunes, and www.samarayung.ca