For six years after completing his debut CD, Three Friends (currently unavailable), Irish pianist / composer Josh Johnston worked as a pianist in Dublin, building up a wide range of session credits, most notably with Offaly singer-songwriter Roesy and as one half of a jazz duo with violinist David MacKenzie - see David MacKenzie & josh Johnston. By the beginning of 2007, Josh had an impressive repertoire of new compositions and he set about hand-picking a band to perform these tunes live. Once formed and after a few gigs, the decision was made to record the best of the songs for a CD. Asylum Harbour was recorded with the basic ensemble of Josh, guitarists Eoin O'Brien & Mark Conway, and bass player Ales Bajgart augmented by special guest performances from Cormac Dunne (The Stunning), Colm O'Snodaigh (Kila), Ronan Swift, SJ McArdle, Martin Tourish, Bill Blackmore, Antonio Cafolla, David MacKenzie, Andrew Csibi and tenor David Beere. Recorded in various houses across Ireland, the recording is stylistically varied taking in jazz, folk and rock as well as some classical influences. The title refers to Dun Laoghaire, Josh's hometown in Ireland which was built as an 'asylum harbour', a safe refuge for ships in a storm. The themes on the album reflect the contradictions and varied implications of the title. Not recorded as a concept album, nonetheless the themes covered seem to focus on identity, home and the search for calm in the troubled waters of life. The album was produce