Earlier this week, Tami Neilson got stuck into a collage of sorts.
She and fellow troubadours Barry Saunders, Marlon Williams and Delaney Davidson sat down in their Napier digs and settled on a rough idea of how their songs will flow during the nationwide musical trek they've dubbed The Church Tour.
''We all went through our set lists and cut out little pieces of paper for each song and made a jigsaw puzzle of how the show will run. Today, we are working through all the things we are going to collaborate on.
''A lot of the songs will be ones we've performed together in the past,'' Neilson explains during a break from rehearsals.
There will be some new tunes, too.
Saunders (via his longstanding band The Warratahs), Williams and Davidson have all released albums recently.
So, too has Neilson, whose latest, Don't Be Afraid, was inspired by the death of her father, Ron, in February this year.
Yet even Neilson's newer material will be familiar to most of the touring party.
Davidson, who gets a co-credit as producer of Don't Be Afraid, played guitar on the album; he also joined ''the boys in the band'' (bassist Ben Woolley, drummer Joe McCullum and multi-instrumentalist Dave Khan, along with Will Wood) in an all-male choir that added extra muscle to Neilson's already strong vocal performances.
The aforementioned were also present on 2014 studio release Dynamite!, for which Neilson earned a 2015 RIANZ Best Country Album Award (Tui), her fourth, following wins in 2009, 2010 and 2012. She was also awarded an APRA Silver Scroll last year for her song Walk (Back to Your Arms).
If Dynamite! had Neilson dipping her toes into soul, particularly in the title track and the Motown-infused blues shuffle of Walk (Back to Your Arms), her latest is more of a full-on dive.
''I guess growing up and singing gospel music in the family band, my vocal accompaniment was my brothers and Dad. I'm used to that all-male choral thing,'' the Auckland-based Canadian says, referring to fond memories of concerts in North America involving father Ron, mum Betty and brothers Todd and Jay.
''This album just seemed to slip into soul, albeit with a few country elements. It definitely has a deeper weight to it. The songs are quite emotionally intense.
''I named the album Don't Be Afraid for a lot of reasons.
''Obviously, it has to do with Dad, but it's also about boldly doing what feels right.
''It's also about going deeper into that soul arena. It's not calculated. There's no marketing team behind the curtain. This is the guts of me.''
She might have used the process of writing and recording as a form of grief counselling, yet Neilson's album is a surprisingly joyous experience.
''Here I am baring my soul in the grieving process, but people have commented that it's an uplifting album. It did become a celebration of Dad, his life and his music. I guess it's like when people say they want their funeral to be a party.
''It deals with all the different stages of grief. There is reflection on The First Man, anger on Holy Moses. Then a song such as Bury My Body is like an old Negro spiritual, which is kind of encouraging.''
Neilson had already booked time at Lyttelton studio The Sitting Room before she received news from home that her father was dying. She considered cancelling her plans, but her mother encouraged her to continue.
''I was in Canada trying to support my mum. I was there with my husband and two children under 3.
''Anyone who has kids will know that's not the most conducive time for creativity. But I guess that's a blessing as well because it forces you to keep pushing forward.
''Recording the album was also a way for me to immediately keep Dad close.
''When Mum talked me into carrying on with the album, I thought if I can get to the halfway point with these songs, I'd have enough to continue.
''My brother Jay was going through the same things. We've written together before and he often provides the backbone of the song and I deal with the lyrics. So we sat in Todd's office and worked through the framework for most of the songs. I then took them away and finished the lyrics.''
Significantly, Neilson's father gets songwriting credits on two tracks, Don't Be Afraid and Lonely.
''Don't Be Afraid was the last song he ever wrote; he did it in hospital,'' Neilson explains.
''He had this urgency and wanted everyone to hear this song. But he could hardly speak because of his lack of lung capacity. I managed to record him singing a little snippet while he had an oxygen mask on. I used that as a hidden track on the album.
''Jay and I got together and completed the song and we, along with our brother Todd, performed it at Dad's funeral.''
Aware his daughter planned to write some songs while back in Canada, Ron left snippets of past demos on his computer.
Among them was the outline for Lonely, which he had recorded as a 20-year-old in 1972.
''We were very familiar with most of his songs, even things that hadn't been finished, but we came across this demo for Lonely, which we hadn't heard before.
''It was this wee treasure.''
The show
• Tami Neilson, Delaney Davidson, Barry Saunders and Marlon Williams bring The Church Tour to Knox Church, Dunedin, on October 10.
• Tami Neilson's Don't Be Afraid is out now. Review page 22
Tickets
• We have two double passes to the show to give away. To go in the draw, email playtime@odt.co.nz with your name, address and daytime contact number. Type Church Tour in the subject line.
