Credit Merle or Darlene or both. The story of how country-roots duo Grand Canyon got together is as magical as the ride into the rustic landscape of Northern Ontario that made a believer again out of a disillusioned musician and set him on a great new adventure with an equally talented woman.

Together, Toronto singer-guitarists and songwriters Chris Seldon and Courtney Farquhar create a partnership that pits a rugged, hard-lived voice with a mellifluous, honeyed one, but when they harmonize it sounds as fitting as apples in a pie crust or lug nuts on a car wheel.

The songs — which can be heard on their debut self-titled EP — range from “Cherokee” about a fictitious bank robber to “That Old Train,” on which the two reminisce about old loves that got away. There’s also “Built To Win,” a distant memory of a legendary speedway and “Flickering Light” about broken souls dealing with hardship in these times.

“Riverbend” is an interesting one. While written up at a cottage in Haliburton, Ont. After Grand Canyon formed, the sentiment is an important one for the pair — longing to get out of the city to the beautiful starry sky, which is exactly what happened with Chris in June of 2010.