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Husband & Wife Duo, Dan And Claudia Zanes, Turn Pandemic Project Into Full Album

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- We all had our own pandemic projects but for husband and wife musicians Dan and Claudia Zanes their project turned into a full album, written, produced and recorded right here in Baltimore.

Dan and Claudia Zanes made the move south from New York after visiting the city for a set of performances.

"We just totally fell in love with the city," said Dan. "Within a few months we found our house, we moved and three months later the pandemic hit."

Looking for a way to stay connected they turned to music and youtube.

"We were just thinking about isolation and what that really does to us and how can we feel connected during these times," explained Claudia.

With that, the Social Isolation Song Series was born, what started as what they thought would be a two-week project turned into 200 days of performances. Some of the songs they knew, others they wrote and were inspired by the events going on in the world.

"We lost George Floyd. There was Ahmad Aubry. There was so much happening in the world at that time and sometimes if we couldn't find the songs to sing, so we started writing songs," said Claudia.

It wasn't long before that had enough original material to put together a full album. The title track, Let Love Be Your Guide, inspired by the late John Lewis, was written on the day of his funeral.

"We were so inspired by his words and commitment to none violence, and his legacy," said Dan. "We sat down at the kitchen table and wrote let love be your guide and put it up later that day."

While some of the topics are tough, they find the music brings everyone together.

"What we were constantly reminded of is there's joy in this human experience that we have, especially when we have it with each other," said Dan.

Check them out on Instagram and Facebook along with their website.

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