"Your music plays a prominent role in setting the story's mood and overall tone."

Acoustic based Heavy Mellow is a relaxing blend of folk, jazz, grass and classical. Combining finger-style, rhythm and lead, this instrumental string music creates a sound that the name implies, not fitting neatly into any one genre.

This music has been used in several independent films (see quotes above), commercials, background sound and other applications, as well as for personal listening and live performances. Heavy Mellow has released two albums, with more expected in the future. The first, Acoustic Abstracts is a collection of duets with a simple, refreshing feel. The second album Horizons follows in the same vein, but with more layers to yield a bit fuller sound including bass, percussion, and additional instruments on some tracks.

Heavy Mellow is Barry Sulkin and Paul Hadley Davis. Sulkin (on left) plays finger-style guitars - six and twelve-string steel, classical, and dobro - in a variety of tunings, along with mandolin and harmonica. Davis plays lead guitar, mandolin, bass, and keys. They first met while attending the University of Virginia, then re-connected in Nashville, where they helped form the Americana band Back Creek. Later they started Heavy Mellow as a side project to pursue original instrumental music and fill requests for live performances in smaller settings. They continue to play and record, working out of Nashville and western North Carolina.

Acoustic Abstracts

Horizons