Sussex is the brainchild of Michael Emenau and Rob Lutes. The two renowned musicians were childhood friends and high school bandmates in New Brunswick. After graduation, they went their separate ways—Michael to Tokyo, San Francisco and Paris, where he made a name for himself as a world-class jazz vibraphonist and composer; Lutes to Montreal, where he has recorded six albums and earned a reputation as one of Canada’s finest songwriters and roots performers.

Reunited in 2012, the pair began to write together for the first time in 20 years. Encouraged by the results, they decided to make a record. Enlisting the services of some of Montreal’s finest players, including guitarist Benoit Charest (Les Triplettes de Belleville) , violinist Josh Zubot (Patrick Watson), bassist Sage Reynolds (Jordan Officer)and trumpeter Ivanhoé Jolicoeur (Les Cowboys Fringants), they went into the legendary Studio Frisson in Montreal in Fall 2014 and Winter 2015 and recorded their debut album Parade Day. The band released its second album The Ocean Wide in September, 2019.