Lots of new releases lately but other thread getting big and unwieldy and a resource hog. So! New thread for weird Fahey-esque instrumental folk guitar.
What did we have so far this year? Highlights for me:
William Tyler- Lost Colony (the kraut-country thing gets me going)Steve Gunn- Way Out WeatherNathan Bowles- NansemondChris Forsyth- Intensity Ghost (think overall I liked Solar Motel better but I'm glad this one seems to be taking off)Tashi Dorji- S/T
Seems like a lot of these folks made it into the limelight this year! And new Six Organs looks to be a monster.
Can we keep the Youtube embedding to a minimum in this incarnation? You can prevent them from embedding by having "https:" as opposed to just "http:" in the URL
― global tetrahedron, Saturday, 13 December 2014 20:34 (nine years ago) link
thank you! I'll post a link on the old one unless someone does it first
am I correct that the Tashi Dorji S/T is older stuff compiled? really liked the new EP on Bandcamp page.
re: Richard Dawson, was gonna say that I hear a lot of Bill Orcutt's influence/style in his playing, anybody else? (sorry if this was noted previously)
― some kind of terrible IDM with guitars (sleeve), Saturday, December 13, 2014 11:41 AM
― some kind of terrible IDM with guitars (sleeve), Saturday, 13 December 2014 20:36 (nine years ago) link
also ppl were talking about richard dawson, don't want to derail!
― global tetrahedron, Saturday, 13 December 2014 20:36 (nine years ago) link
lol no worries there
― some kind of terrible IDM with guitars (sleeve), Saturday, 13 December 2014 20:37 (nine years ago) link
doing some EOY catchup and I am not feeling this Steve Gunn at all, threadban me if you must
liked the Solar Motel (2 tracks on Spotify), really liked the new Tashi Dorji EP.
― some kind of terrible IDM with guitars (sleeve), Saturday, 13 December 2014 21:02 (nine years ago) link
am I correct that the Tashi Dorji S/T is older stuff compiled?yeah, pulled from several years' worth of cassette iirc. kind of a "greatest hits," i guess. he really is great, seems to get better every time i play his stuff.
― tylerw, Saturday, 13 December 2014 21:37 (nine years ago) link
sleeve - yeah a ton of orcutt & not to be super cynical but he seems to be getting a lot of praise from ppl I don't get the sense really know Orcutt
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 14 December 2014 03:32 (nine years ago) link
But i do like him
I just think it's a little like how when I finally heard gang of four reissues after growing up a fugazi fan
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 14 December 2014 03:33 (nine years ago) link
Oh hey folks.
Sleeve, that Gunn record definitely is a very specific kind of cool to me, I get why it wouldn't appeal to you. It is mostly very low-key and its charms can be extremely subtle, but I have personally found it to be deep and varied enough that I return to it pretty frequently. Maybe it'll grow on you, but it is definitely a song-based record that doesn't try to push the musicality as far as a lot of records touched on in this thread (and many of Gunn's other records do).
― grandavis, Monday, 15 December 2014 14:57 (nine years ago) link
yeah i was actually wondering recently what I would think of gunn's latest if it was the first record of his I had heard. the context of his gradual development into a more straight-ahead singer-songwriter adds some flavor I think (if that makes sense). love the latest but at the same time, i hope he hasn't left behind his more avant leanings -- those gunn-truscinski records are still my faves out of everything he's done.
― tylerw, Monday, 15 December 2014 15:16 (nine years ago) link
hey i have a question -- how do you pronounce cian of the name cian nugent?
― vigetable (La Lechera), Monday, 15 December 2014 15:20 (nine years ago) link
rather how does one pronounce cian accurately
i thought it was like cyan but then realized it could be sean or shee-an or idk what and i would like to know
― vigetable (La Lechera), Monday, 15 December 2014 15:21 (nine years ago) link
Kee An
― tylerw, Monday, 15 December 2014 15:26 (nine years ago) link
i thought it was just pronounced "sean" for years though.
― tylerw, Monday, 15 December 2014 15:27 (nine years ago) link
Like Ian preceded with a /k/ ?Good to know! I have been meaning to ask this question for months.
― vigetable (La Lechera), Monday, 15 December 2014 15:31 (nine years ago) link
yes, exactly!
― tylerw, Monday, 15 December 2014 15:34 (nine years ago) link
haha apparently lots of blog posters and show hosters feel the need to lay this to rest too:http://i61.tinypic.com/vgmyht.png
― Neal Cassady, Monday, 15 December 2014 15:39 (nine years ago) link
The Gunn/Mike Cooper and Gunn/Gangloff records both came out this year I think, and both contain a good range of playing outside of his "Way Out Weather" mode. It will be interesting to see what side of the divide the upcoming Gunn/Black Twig Pickers record will ride, but my guess is I will dig it. Hope some of it revisits this territory though:
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Black_Twig_Pickers_and_Steve_Gunn/NATCH_1/Salted_Caramel
― grandavis, Monday, 15 December 2014 17:06 (nine years ago) link
Global mentioned notable records from this year, and I wanna bring up Bachman's "Orange Co. Serenade". Really enjoyed it & definitely revisit it pretty frequently. Feel like he is growing and really may be just hitting his stride now, though who knows. New record on Three Lobed apparently out in April or May. Saw him Saturday night and the new songs were great, no reason not to believe that this next record will be anything other than really good.
― grandavis, Monday, 15 December 2014 17:14 (nine years ago) link
dammit I forgot about that in my EOY listening binge this weekend, will check it out!
fwiw my introduction to Gunn was his side of the "Not The Spaces You Know..." comp, which I loved
― some kind of terrible IDM with guitars (sleeve), Monday, 15 December 2014 17:16 (nine years ago) link
oh yeah, shouldn't have forgotten the Daniel Bachman one! I think I've come around on that one, seems like the most cohesive release he's done so far.
Also Charlie Parr doesn't usually fit in this thread but he did a release this year that definitely does. It's called Hollandale- some really nicely recorded exploratory fingerpicked instrumentals. All on a National resonator, which sounds awesome/immense at times. Some cool sounds and textures added... anyway, may have been overlooked in this thread... It's on Spotify
― global tetrahedron, Monday, 15 December 2014 18:59 (nine years ago) link
Has this been shared yet? HD video of Tashi playing on WFMU, last September.
vimeo.com/wfmu/review/106853495/6f23ec5808
― Neal Cassady, Monday, 15 December 2014 22:28 (nine years ago) link
gamelan for guitar
― Neal Cassady, Monday, 15 December 2014 22:31 (nine years ago) link
awesome
― global tetrahedron, Monday, 15 December 2014 22:33 (nine years ago) link
Whatever he's got there on the neck is partially under certain strings and on top of others. He accidentally bumps into it at one point and it seems very loose. I thought it was a capo at first. Such crazy sounds coming out of that guitar.
― Neal Cassady, Monday, 15 December 2014 22:50 (nine years ago) link
Watching the video as I'm commenting, probably not the best idea. Still don't know what that is, even with the close ups.
― Neal Cassady, Monday, 15 December 2014 22:52 (nine years ago) link
I thought it was a hairclip, it loops round the top string.
― ogmor, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 15:19 (nine years ago) link
Think Ogmor is right, looks like a large barrette, the cheap kind you can get at CVS etc.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 15:38 (nine years ago) link
coupla good tashi things over on the FMA: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tashi_Dorji/
― tylerw, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 16:02 (nine years ago) link
for the record here are my fave ilx-brigade kinda things of 2014. the usuals!
Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band - Intensity GhostNathan Bowles - NansemondSteve Gunn - Way Out WeatherDaniel Bachman - Orange Co. SerenadeWilliam Tyler - Lost ColonyTashi Dorji - s/tDon Bikoff - Hallowed GroundMike & Cara Gangloff - Black Ribbon of Death, Silver Thread of LifeAlvarius B. / Sir Richard Bishop - If You Don’t Like It … Don’t! Bill Orcutt - VDSQSir Richard Bishop - VDSQAnthony Pasquarosa - VDSQRobbie Basho - Art of the Acoustic Steel String Guitar 12 & 6Smoke Dawson - Fiddle
more singer-songwriter-y things, but joan shelley (feat. nathan salsburg on some tracks) and ryley walker LPs are recommended too!
― tylerw, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 16:05 (nine years ago) link
shit i forgot about bikoff
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 16:13 (nine years ago) link
also you might say me and global are slightly excited about playing this show
http://first-avenue.com/event/2015/01/americanprimitive
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 16:14 (nine years ago) link
nice! yeah, if you ignore the bikoff cover art, it's a really nice record.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 16:20 (nine years ago) link
that amy in quebec track is so close to wine&roses/red pony/approaching of the disco void its almost a cover
― ogmor, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 17:07 (nine years ago) link
was watching some fahey live on youtube last night...here's an 81 gig, with apparently Michael Hedges opening (sorry folks no records available didn't get pressed in time)...Fahey is being really smarmy in his banter, the set itself verges from awkward to hypnotic, found his flopping down combover hair kind of distracting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP08Y3DsJvs
this is a 2000 set, he does a lot of dicking around/joking around at the beginning, but about the 7:40 mark on he gets going and it's actually pretty coolhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5jXrutGt2U
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 17:11 (nine years ago) link
We going the "https:..." route to skip embeds? Not that I don't love opening this thread to shots of Fahey at his weirdest ....
― grandavis, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 17:22 (nine years ago) link
oops sorry
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 17:23 (nine years ago) link
A leaner/meaner thread for 2015 I guess. I'll miss the Fahey gut though.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 17:26 (nine years ago) link
Transmissions Fest footage is new to me, awesome. I wish more people openly talked about his later work without full on the talk of "well, I don't know about this, but look at what he used to do." The only thing that I can't fully grasp is the Hitomi material, some of it is played in that Transmissions Fest video. Kinda feel like it goes down easier when you get to watch him play like that, on record is another thing. There is another noodley electric gig on youtube that actually does have a lot of syncopation; and getting to hear old styles on an electric is pretty nice. There aren't many artists that went so far in the other direction, let alone an instance where you get to watch past material with a new technique. Defiantly would rather have had Fahey do all that then not. I dig The Mill Pond lots. It's not too different than some of the stuff that is out there today. Womblife gets so zonked in parts you can't help but grin.
― Neal Cassady, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 22:03 (nine years ago) link
Loving this Glenn Jones tune, "The Teething Necklace (For John Fahey)"xxx.youtube.com/watch?v=6qd7pWITPQQ
― Neal Cassady, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 22:05 (nine years ago) link
Couple things I put together,
John Fahey's Adelphi Sessions, the Dance of Death outtakes. Uploaded as MP3's, posted on my blog:http://broadcastsfrompoorfarm.tumblr.com/post/105403178308/john-fahey-adelphi-sessions-the-dance-of-death
Scanned my copy of the mail order catalog from Fonotone Records, interesting curio. Includes the numerous early Fahey comps Joe Bussard curated for Fonotone.http://broadcastsfrompoorfarm.tumblr.com/post/105401770173/fonotone-records-mail-order-catalog-pdf-booklet
I finally put together some new lapstyle material and wanted to share it here. "Blue For al-Watawit of Yashkur" sits as is, in a sorta demo state. I didn't want to forget all the new ideas I've been having, yet also told myself I wouldn't record again until I bought a nice microphone. Of course, I got impatient, so here we are. Before they find a home somewhere, I do want to properly record them.http://raglore.com/album/blue-for-al-watawit-of-yashkur
Link for the MP3's are posted here,http://broadcastsfrompoorfarm.tumblr.com/post/105403934713/rag-lore-blue-for-al-watawit-of
― Neal Cassady, Wednesday, 17 December 2014 02:51 (nine years ago) link
Look forward to checking this stuff out
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 17 December 2014 03:28 (nine years ago) link
Cool, thanks Neal! Actually already listened to your "Blue For al-Watawit of Yashkur" tracks (Mr. Avant Ghetto threw them up on twitter yesterday), really enjoyed them. First track sucked me right in, so yeah make a recording you are happy with and I am on board!
― grandavis, Wednesday, 17 December 2014 17:57 (nine years ago) link
neal - or others - what microphones/mic pres do you guys use? this coming year i need to get serious about recording an album
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 17 December 2014 19:11 (nine years ago) link
like your new stuff neal
the only Tashi Dorji song on Spotify is a cool little curio, electronic remix featuring his guitar of a song by some psychey dude name Al Lover
http://open.spotify.com/track/2HxzI5VuTvgdbTGolZ7x7G
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 17 December 2014 21:00 (nine years ago) link
Thanks dudes, I have always just been using a portable digital Tascam recorder from B&H Photo that I bought a while back. It fits in your pocket so I've used it while out and walking around, but it's not a good choice for recording guitar at this point, I loved it at first bc of how much of an improvement it was over using the internal MacBook mic. I sold my two amps (+all other musical electronics) years ago during collage, which I regret now. As I would like to record traditionally with a mic and amp set up. Either using the sound hole or install a pick up. How about USB mics? Been talked about here before I think. Decent clarity from the models available now?
― Neal Cassady, Wednesday, 17 December 2014 21:34 (nine years ago) link
I think the solution is to just meet someone in town with a set up :) - that way I can avoid all of this.
― Neal Cassady, Wednesday, 17 December 2014 21:36 (nine years ago) link
I've posted things upthread recorded with the Blue Yeti (120 new but you can def find a ton of these used on ebay, got mine for 80 on craigslist)http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=857749&gclid=Cj0KEQiA8MSkBRCP5LaRlcOAusMBEiQAiqldkgFeoLzZuCr_Hg1GQ03TBk1qSggFdqEqo5fQpNn1jLgaAgF98P8HAQ&is=REG&Q=&A=details
you can hear the stuff i've done, which is minimally processed, a bit EQd and maybe compressed slighty with some audicity plugin reverb on it, but overall I'd say USB mics have come a long way
of course, I'm just plotting about how I want to get a USB DAC/Mic pre unit and a better XLR mic so I suppose one is always unsatisfied.
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 17 December 2014 21:38 (nine years ago) link
gonna check out yr new thing neal! i've dug the rag lore things i've heard so far. just got hipped to this thing via soft abuse's twitter -- maybe it was mentioned on the old thread? https://moonbros.bandcamp.com/album/frijolillo - kind of low-key/dreamy/fieldrecording-y/acoustic action. i like it!
― tylerw, Wednesday, 17 December 2014 21:45 (nine years ago) link
Neal there is also a USB model of the Blue Spark which is supposed to be great on acoustics
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 18 December 2014 00:48 (nine years ago) link
Also, great job on that Prairiewolf album Tyler, it is great. Was happy to see that pop up in quite a few places when it came out and have enjoyed listening to it quite a bit. Also Isasa is wonderful, I am glad I have gotten to see him play a couple of times.
― grandavis, Friday, 1 December 2023 14:26 (nine months ago) link
thanks, davis!
yeah, that comp is stellar ... a good chaser (with some artist crossover) is this one, too: https://spinstersounds.bandcamp.com/album/measure-pour-mixtape-music-for-cooking
― tylerw, Friday, 1 December 2023 15:45 (nine months ago) link
Oh yeah, that looks great too! Always enjoy what Spinster gets up to, and some great people on that comp.
― grandavis, Friday, 1 December 2023 16:55 (nine months ago) link
hey grandavis!!
bachman got some nice real estate on pitchfork the other day
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/daniel-bachman-when-the-roses-come-again/
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 1 December 2023 16:59 (nine months ago) link
Yeah, I hope everyone listens to that Bachman record, I think it is pretty great. Gets better every time I listen too, nice to see that review and hopefully there will be more to come.
My buddy Tyler who is the other half of Grand Banks actually plays some harmonium and bells on that record. Really cool to me that he and Daniel collaborate here and there.
― grandavis, Friday, 1 December 2023 17:14 (nine months ago) link
oh that new Bachman is lovely, thanks!
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Friday, 1 December 2023 22:39 (nine months ago) link
This is a mate's new album. Broadly belongs in here, I think. At a conceptual level, it makes me think of Eddie Hazel; sonically, it's more Dean McPhee or Dylan Carlson. Great stuff.
https://suborno.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-eyes-of-eternity
It was all improvised on the day, with this setup.
https://i.imgur.com/7Ev1Y07.jpg
― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Friday, 8 December 2023 19:19 (eight months ago) link
i really dig that!
bachman and now elkington getting prominently reviewed in pitchfork
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/james-elkington-me-neither/
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 8 December 2023 19:35 (eight months ago) link
excited to hear what jim elkington is up to!
(severely overlooked figure imo — right on that pfork is giving him good marks. they were complete dicks to him in the zincs era)
― she fell asleep with her hand around my throat (Austin), Saturday, 9 December 2023 01:14 (eight months ago) link
the daniel bachman record is good
― budo jeru, Saturday, 9 December 2023 01:48 (eight months ago) link
it really is, I need to buy/DL it so I can listen without microgaps between the tracks, it's basically all one flowing thing
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Saturday, 9 December 2023 01:49 (eight months ago) link
cannot believe it's been over 10 years since I saw him do an instore show for Seven Pines, fuck I'm old/how time flies/etc
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Saturday, 9 December 2023 01:51 (eight months ago) link
is it more of the unpleasant noise thing he’s been doing? that last record was just not good listening
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Sunday, 17 December 2023 20:52 (eight months ago) link
Well, I liked that last record so maybe I am not the best person to ask, but in my mind the new Bachman is quite a bit more traditionally "listenable" than the last one. It uses similar methods regarding how the tracks are compiled/arranged but with I think a softer edge to the sound overall. I would give it a try if you care about his playing overall but it is certainly not a return to his straightforward guitar stuff. There are melodic passages though, and layers of him "playing" on it.
― grandavis, Sunday, 17 December 2023 21:08 (eight months ago) link
I enjoy his newer stuff but I guess I do have some mixed feelings because I felt like he was uniquely talented at fingerstyle stuff and while I think he is doing some creative stuff I don't know if he's as exceptional at that as he was as a playerbut he's gotta do what he wants to do and I can understand how maybe am priv starts to feel repetitive after awhile (I myself am not really playing anymore for similar reasons)
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 17 December 2023 21:16 (eight months ago) link
I mean he certainly could return to it at any point, he put this out early last year:
https://threelobed.bandcamp.com/album/lonesome-weary-blues
In my opinion his latest record succeeds at what it is doing very well, but I mean it is all relative. I just admire his ability to tie "place" and history and topical ideas into instrumental music in deeply personal ways. Maybe some people do one particular side of it better or are more accomplished at the technical aspects, but I find it really impressive how much he puts into this current one.
― grandavis, Sunday, 17 December 2023 21:40 (eight months ago) link
I took a little skip through the new one, it seems more my cup of tea— when last year's record came out and I read a description, i was hoping it would feel like the Sacred Harp stuff, but unlike the latter, I couldn't just have it come on in the car and want to enter into it...new one seems more promising.
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Monday, 18 December 2023 22:26 (eight months ago) link
this seems relevant;https://n-t-s.bandcamp.com/album/european-primitive-guitar-1974-1987
― dead precedents (sleeve), Saturday, 27 January 2024 05:22 (seven months ago) link
oh wow that looks interesting
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 27 January 2024 14:32 (seven months ago) link
crossposting from the ambient thread, this is a 90-minute (!) tape of Arvo Part pieces transcribed for solo guitar, I find it bewitching
https://cosimapitz.bandcamp.com/album/wherever-i-go
― dead precedents (sleeve), Thursday, 1 February 2024 00:30 (seven months ago) link
Latest Lake Mary is flat-out gorgeous: https://lakemary.bandcamp.com/album/its-okay-you-can-open-your-eyes-now
― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Monday, 26 February 2024 21:36 (six months ago) link
ohhhhh yeah. chaz is always pretty great — might be a little underrated.
― tylerw, Monday, 26 February 2024 22:25 (six months ago) link
wow that's great, healing
― corrs unplugged, Tuesday, 27 February 2024 09:57 (six months ago) link
Seems to be the only thread in which Kayla Cohen has been mentioned before, so I'll throw it here - the new Itasca album is absolutely gorgeous, I love it.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 15 March 2024 17:52 (five months ago) link
yes! one of the best of the year
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 15 March 2024 18:15 (five months ago) link
this Itasca record is beautiful, thanks for the recommendation
― corrs unplugged, Tuesday, 26 March 2024 08:52 (five months ago) link
from Frag City News--adjust your shades accordingly:
Lee Underwood’s syncretic blend of jazz, folk, and blues was a tremendous force behind Tim Buckley’s genre-stretching late 60s/early 70s music — but his 1988 acoustic guitar opus, California Sigh, has remained a unsung footnote to his story. Until now! On June 28, Drag City is excited to present California Sigh, fully remastered for vinyl and digital platforms. With today’s announcement is the title track, “California Sigh”.Lee Underwood is usually mentioned first as Tim Buckley’s stalwart and lead guitarist — inspiring, accompanying and being inspired by Buckley through the late 60s and early 70s — as well as the author of Blue Melody: Tim Buckley Remembered. If, like us, you ever wondered what became of that trippy picker from those Buckley records, then you too missed California Sigh when it first appeared in 1988: a self-released meditative cassette and a tranquil acoustic journey that was almost too ahead of its time. In the late 80s, Lee found himself increasingly interested in the psycho-spiritual, reading the works of Osho and Alan Watts and listening to New Age greats like Paul Winter, Steve Roach, and Brian Eno. California Sigh reflects these curiosities, along with the musical joys Underwood found surrounded in nature with the love of his life, Sonia Crespi. The two took frequent trips to the Southern Colorado mountains, enveloped in a soundscape of trickling streams, coyotes howling in the night, and the silence of stars — inspiring the serene pool of field recordings sprawling across California Sigh.The lead single and title track, “California Sigh”, blows straight from those Southern Rockies. Strumming a cleansing spiritual path through a swirling gust of wind, Lee deploys crystalline figuration in a synth-swept landscape, ebbing and flowing with bold flourishes and picked harmonics as the song stirs. “California Sigh” reveals Lee’s free-floating acoustic moods, with synths from ambient avatar Steve Roach, as a soulful work of tranquility and transcendence.California Sigh was co-produced by Lee Underwood and the aforementioned Steve Roach, a trailblazer in the New Age realm. The playing of Chas Smith and Kevin Braheny Fortune, on pedal steel and soprano sax respectively, lend additional colors to Lee’s music on several songs, but it is largely the soulful depth of Lee’s guitar figures, limned by Steve’s synthesizers, that elevate Lee’s lovely cycle of songs. California Sigh is “dedicated with love and respect” by Lee to his late wife, Sonia, whose warmth and inspiration shines through all the material.Now, 35 years later, the air around the instruments and the full sonic impact of California Sigh — alternately gentle and mighty, like the natural world that inspired it — is magnified incomparably. Train your ears on the meditations of California Sigh come June 28, 2024!Listen to title Track "California Sigh" https://lnk.to/californiasigh Lee UnderwoodDrag City: https://www.dragcity.com/artists/lee-underwoodBandcamp: https://leeunderwood.bandcamp.com/album/california-sighPre-order / Pre-save California Sigh: lnk.to/californiasighFor more information and interview requests, please contact:bailey at dragcity dot com
The lead single and title track, “California Sigh”, blows straight from those Southern Rockies. Strumming a cleansing spiritual path through a swirling gust of wind, Lee deploys crystalline figuration in a synth-swept landscape, ebbing and flowing with bold flourishes and picked harmonics as the song stirs. “California Sigh” reveals Lee’s free-floating acoustic moods, with synths from ambient avatar Steve Roach, as a soulful work of tranquility and transcendence.
California Sigh was co-produced by Lee Underwood and the aforementioned Steve Roach, a trailblazer in the New Age realm. The playing of Chas Smith and Kevin Braheny Fortune, on pedal steel and soprano sax respectively, lend additional colors to Lee’s music on several songs, but it is largely the soulful depth of Lee’s guitar figures, limned by Steve’s synthesizers, that elevate Lee’s lovely cycle of songs. California Sigh is “dedicated with love and respect” by Lee to his late wife, Sonia, whose warmth and inspiration shines through all the material.
Now, 35 years later, the air around the instruments and the full sonic impact of California Sigh — alternately gentle and mighty, like the natural world that inspired it — is magnified incomparably. Train your ears on the meditations of California Sigh come June 28, 2024!Listen to title Track "California Sigh" https://lnk.to/californiasigh Lee Underwood
Drag City: https://www.dragcity.com/artists/lee-underwood
Bandcamp: https://leeunderwood.bandcamp.com/album/california-sigh
Pre-order / Pre-save California Sigh: lnk.to/californiasighFor more information and interview requests, please contact:
bailey at dragcity dot com
― dow, Wednesday, 15 May 2024 22:32 (three months ago) link
Sorry, *Drag* City News, not "Frag," since this ain't the Vietnam War.
― dow, Wednesday, 15 May 2024 22:33 (three months ago) link
this sounds really promising! thanks for posting
reminds me a bit of george cromarty
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 16 May 2024 16:55 (three months ago) link
tangentially related to the thread but pedal steel player Chas Smithwho is on that California Sigh record, just passed away a couple days ago.this is a good interview with him:https://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/steel-legend-chas-smith-remembered/
― bryan, Thursday, 16 May 2024 17:53 (three months ago) link
yeah he has a lovely 10" record I was listening to yesterday
https://coldbluemusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-complete-10-inch-series-from-cold-blue-cold-blue-music-daniel-lentz-peter-garland-chas-smith-michael-jon-fink-rick-cox-barney-childs-read-miller
― I painted my teeth (sleeve), Thursday, 16 May 2024 17:58 (three months ago) link
Thanks! Pedal steel is still such a minority niche, but at least we've got Dave Easley, Susan Alcorn, Greg Liesz, and records like this.More upcoming from Drag City
:SHACKLETON & SIX ORGANS ALIGNWhat might appear to be the most unlikely collaboration of 2024 proves also to be one of the most invigorating listens of the year! Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance are in full aural/metaphysical alignment on Jinxed by Being: a no-brainer fusion of Shackleton’s bass heavy cosmic dread and Six Organs’ ritual folksong, out June 28.Longtime listeners know that both Shackleton and Six Organs of Admittance have been unafraid to pursue their muse into any and all encroaching depth of darkness or outer boundary of potential dissonance. They also share that ol’ maverick psychedelic ritual transcendental music vibe, don’t they? And a fascination with repetition and cycles. And a mutual inspiration drawn from alternative tunings and literature… all this considered, it’s been basically inevitable that Ben Chasny and Sam Shackleton would work together. Jinxed by Being finds Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance delighting in this synthesis, reveling in unique sonic textures, esoteric deliveries, and new reinventions. Sam’s vocals — a rare occurrence — find melody with Ben’s on several tracks; elsewhere on the record, drum samples by Chasny (recorded in Six Organs’ embryonic stage) are re-sequenced anew by Shackleton.The first single, “Stages of Capitulation”, captures Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance’s timely meeting in a marvelously organic playground of world beats, with acid guitar and deep bass oozing throughout. As they chant an arcane ritual, a widescreen stereo image of their exotic environs expands into a mix alive with details, flashing from left to right and back again. Chasny’s music video provides a potent incense to burn through the track’s seven-minute runtime
What might appear to be the most unlikely collaboration of 2024 proves also to be one of the most invigorating listens of the year! Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance are in full aural/metaphysical alignment on Jinxed by Being: a no-brainer fusion of Shackleton’s bass heavy cosmic dread and Six Organs’ ritual folksong, out June 28.
Longtime listeners know that both Shackleton and Six Organs of Admittance have been unafraid to pursue their muse into any and all encroaching depth of darkness or outer boundary of potential dissonance. They also share that ol’ maverick psychedelic ritual transcendental music vibe, don’t they? And a fascination with repetition and cycles. And a mutual inspiration drawn from alternative tunings and literature… all this considered, it’s been basically inevitable that Ben Chasny and Sam Shackleton would work together. Jinxed by Being finds Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance delighting in this synthesis, reveling in unique sonic textures, esoteric deliveries, and new reinventions. Sam’s vocals — a rare occurrence — find melody with Ben’s on several tracks; elsewhere on the record, drum samples by Chasny (recorded in Six Organs’ embryonic stage) are re-sequenced anew by Shackleton.
The first single, “Stages of Capitulation”, captures Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance’s timely meeting in a marvelously organic playground of world beats, with acid guitar and deep bass oozing throughout. As they chant an arcane ritual, a widescreen stereo image of their exotic environs expands into a mix alive with details, flashing from left to right and back again. Chasny’s music video provides a potent incense to burn through the track’s seven-minute runtime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ERSbUwGWT4
Against the categorization of perceived genre rather than intention, encounters like Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance may never have found themselves sitting next to each other, beyond alphabets and other institutional organizing principles. Rearrange your libraries (vinyl and streaming, that is) on June 28, 2024 — or you might miss getting Jinxed by Being!
― dow, Saturday, 18 May 2024 01:09 (three months ago) link
I’m seeing Gwenifer Raymond tonight at Public Records in NYC! Saving the new Daniel Bachman record for my drive down the 101 next week, thanks everyone for the recommendations.
― toycrossbow, Wednesday, 29 May 2024 15:18 (three months ago) link
she's great live, have fun!
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 29 May 2024 15:20 (three months ago) link
Latest from Drag City
ITEM OF THE WEEKEND:ALASDAIR ROBERTS' PANGSDrag City's ITEM OF THE DAY program provides an amazing insider discount on a different Drag City release each day, exclusively for mail order customers! Every one of your favorite Drag City artists is eligible: it's up to our tireless selection committee, using a complex series of algorithms to pick a new one every 24 hours!Friday items hang around all weekend and this weekend's item is Alasdair Roberts' Pangs! Following the acoustic austerity of his self-titled 2015 release, Alasdair’s applied himself to electric guitar and band once again for his ninth album, Pangs. While similarly broad in range, Pangs brings different forms of song-craft and modes of collaboration again.
Drag City's ITEM OF THE DAY program provides an amazing insider discount on a different Drag City release each day, exclusively for mail order customers! Every one of your favorite Drag City artists is eligible: it's up to our tireless selection committee, using a complex series of algorithms to pick a new one every 24 hours!
Friday items hang around all weekend and this weekend's item is Alasdair Roberts' Pangs! Following the acoustic austerity of his self-titled 2015 release, Alasdair’s applied himself to electric guitar and band once again for his ninth album, Pangs. While similarly broad in range, Pangs brings different forms of song-craft and modes of collaboration again.
― dow, Saturday, 8 June 2024 20:45 (two months ago) link
Can also listen to some of it on bandcamp, along with tracks from his other DC releases:https://alasdairroberts.bandcamp.com/album/pangs
― dow, Saturday, 8 June 2024 20:52 (two months ago) link
Really enjoying the new Kevin Coleman album on Centripetal Force:https://kevincolemancf.bandcamp.com/album/imaginary-conversations
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 16:14 (two months ago) link
Closing track on this is magnificent. Thanks for the heads-up.
Makes me weirdly think of East River Pipe (maybe I just mean 40 Miles).
― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 16:39 (two months ago) link
damn, yes it is.
― alpine static, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 19:07 (two months ago) link
Glad to point some people to it! I think it's a great record and, yeah, that closer is just amazing.
Not sure if this is the thread where we talk about Myriam Gendron, but her new album is also fantastic. Might be my favorite of hers yet. A few tracks with Jim White and Marissa Anderson, plus a Zoh Amba appearance that works really well!
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 11 June 2024 19:23 (two months ago) link
Kevin's playing is really great sounding, thanks for sharing. A long, long time ago I think had one of those moments you see someone and wonder what kind of music they'll be putting out in ten years, it's good to see it a reality! I'm pretty sure I used to see him around at a lot of shows in the Fredericksburg area.
― Neal Cassady, Tuesday, 11 June 2024 22:51 (two months ago) link
Was gonna put this on the Hipster Kisses (for long-lost ladies of thee canyon etc.), but might not be appropriate for this pilgrim lady:
On August 30, Drag City presents the first official reissue of Dorothy Carter’s 1976 debut album, her folk-music exegesis: Troubadour. It’s been 20 years since Dorothy’s passing — but thanks to last year’s reissue of her second album, Waillee Waillee (1978), and this edition of Troubadour, her music is surging forward ever more powerfully. Today’s announcement comes with a visualizer for the first single, “The King of Glory”, a hypnotic hymn hammered by Dorothy evoking western medieval music.In her lifetime, Dorothy Carter, a self-made traveling musician and folklorist, brought forth masterful evocations on hammered dulcimer and psaltery from a myriad of times and places. Following a childhood spent around New England, Dorothy Carter traveled abroad for her higher education and found herself in Mexico during the late 1950s, intent on becoming a nun at the Cuernavaca monastery. Instead, she fell in with a group of expats including David Demby, his soon-to-be-wife Constance Demby (her moment of New Age musical breakthrough still three decades hence), and aspiring artist and musician Bob Rutman. In the early ’70s, this bunch would together form Central Maine Power Company: a troupe of almost feral improvisers playing on a combination of self-made and found instruments, with live video feedback to boot, performing across the Northeast at planetariums and even MoMA.Dorothy had been playing music for decades by this point, but it wasn’t until 1976 that she’d record any of it. That year, she went to Cambridge’s Studio B with Rutman and friend Steve Baer at the console, with Constance and Sally Hilmer accompanying her. The performances captured there were released later that year as Troubadour: a record where, in addition to hammered dulcimer and psaltery, Dorothy played the flute and sang. She chose songs from all over: Appalachian folk tunes (“Shirt of Lace”), old and ancient psalms and hymns, Scottish, Irish, French and Israeli melodies (“The King Of Glory”), with a few of her own songs for good measure (“Masquerade”). They all flow together effortlessly under Dorothy and friends’ hands in a syncretic space that we can identify today as a garden of world musics — a highly energized, alternately meditative and proselytic recital whose vitality has only burgeoned in the decades since it appeared. As it should be: the music of Dorothy Carter is akin to a portal, linking her and us with the eternal.The mythos and arcana Dorothy Carter pursued in relative obscurity is now inspiring an audience larger than she ever knew — and now, a long-held family dream comes true with this reissue of Troubadour, out August 30, 2024. The vinyl edition reproduces the original album package, adding an insert adorned with additional photos of Dorothy and her collection of instruments, as well as notes from reissue producer Eric Demby exploring the era—his childhood—from a vantage point of some 50 years. After all: wherever his parents David and Constance took the family, there too was Dorothy, as she lived and breathed, playing her hammered dulcimer.Dorothy CarterDrag City: https://www.dragcity.com/artists/dorothy-carterBandcamp: https://dorothycarter.bandcamp.com/album/troubadourPre-order / Pre-save Troubadour: lnk.to/troubadourFor more information and press requests, please contact:Bailey Davis | Drag City - baileyd at dragcity.com
In her lifetime, Dorothy Carter, a self-made traveling musician and folklorist, brought forth masterful evocations on hammered dulcimer and psaltery from a myriad of times and places. Following a childhood spent around New England, Dorothy Carter traveled abroad for her higher education and found herself in Mexico during the late 1950s, intent on becoming a nun at the Cuernavaca monastery. Instead, she fell in with a group of expats including David Demby, his soon-to-be-wife Constance Demby (her moment of New Age musical breakthrough still three decades hence), and aspiring artist and musician Bob Rutman. In the early ’70s, this bunch would together form Central Maine Power Company: a troupe of almost feral improvisers playing on a combination of self-made and found instruments, with live video feedback to boot, performing across the Northeast at planetariums and even MoMA.
Dorothy had been playing music for decades by this point, but it wasn’t until 1976 that she’d record any of it. That year, she went to Cambridge’s Studio B with Rutman and friend Steve Baer at the console, with Constance and Sally Hilmer accompanying her. The performances captured there were released later that year as Troubadour: a record where, in addition to hammered dulcimer and psaltery, Dorothy played the flute and sang. She chose songs from all over: Appalachian folk tunes (“Shirt of Lace”), old and ancient psalms and hymns, Scottish, Irish, French and Israeli melodies (“The King Of Glory”), with a few of her own songs for good measure (“Masquerade”). They all flow together effortlessly under Dorothy and friends’ hands in a syncretic space that we can identify today as a garden of world musics — a highly energized, alternately meditative and proselytic recital whose vitality has only burgeoned in the decades since it appeared. As it should be: the music of Dorothy Carter is akin to a portal, linking her and us with the eternal.
The mythos and arcana Dorothy Carter pursued in relative obscurity is now inspiring an audience larger than she ever knew — and now, a long-held family dream comes true with this reissue of Troubadour, out August 30, 2024. The vinyl edition reproduces the original album package, adding an insert adorned with additional photos of Dorothy and her collection of instruments, as well as notes from reissue producer Eric Demby exploring the era—his childhood—from a vantage point of some 50 years. After all: wherever his parents David and Constance took the family, there too was Dorothy, as she lived and breathed, playing her hammered dulcimer.Dorothy Carter
Drag City: https://www.dragcity.com/artists/dorothy-carter
Bandcamp: https://dorothycarter.bandcamp.com/album/troubadour
Pre-order / Pre-save Troubadour: lnk.to/troubadour
For more information and press requests, please contact:
Bailey Davis | Drag City - baileyd at dragcity.com
― dow, Thursday, 13 June 2024 19:20 (two months ago) link
This is really nice.
https://davidmurphymusic.bandcamp.com/album/cuimhne-ghlinn-explorations-in-irish-music-for-pedal-steel-guitar
David Murphy is a multi-instrumentalist based in Cork, Ireland known best for his work with the pedal steel guitar.Taking the instrument outside the confines of its traditional roots, Murphy has accumulated a growing list of recording and live credits. He can regularly be seen and heard on stage and in the studio with diverse Irish artists such as The Lost Brothers, John Blek & The Rats, Arborist, Cian Nugent, Ordnance Survey, Greenshine and The Remedy Club amongst others as well as touring or performing alongside acclaimed international artists such as Willy Vlautin, The Delines, Richmond Fontaine, M. Ward and Jolie Holland.2024 sees Murphy take his first steps out of the shadows as a solo artist with the release of his own full-length studio album 'Cuimhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar' on the Rollercoaster Records label. This continues his quest to expand the vocabulary of the instrument and take it in new and exciting directions.Murphy’s all-instrumental debut album recasts ancient Irish harp tunes and historic airs by O’Carolan, O’Riada et al into the 21st century, voiced by the mysterious, emotive and swelling sound of the pedal steel guitar. Supported by an all-star cast of musicians from across contemporary, modern-classical and folk worlds, the pedal steel ably takes its place within an ensemble featuring cello, violin, piano, harp, uilleann pipes and lush electronic textures and synths. Across 40 minutes, the album conjures a palette of sparse, dreamlike, atmospheric soundscapes and stirring, cinematic takes of these culturally significant compositions and melodies from Ireland’s great harpers, composers and song collectors.This record promises to be a must-listen for fans of pedal steel guitar, atmospheric soundtracks, traditional Irish music, contemporary experimental, ambient and modern-classical music. It features a diverse cast of supporting musicians including Peter Broderick (Efterklang, Erased Tapes), Steve Wickham (The Waterboys, Sinead O'Connor, U2), Laura McFadden (Arborist), Aisling Urwin (Woven Kin), Alannah Thornburgh, Rory McCarthy (Notify), Mark McCausland (The Lost Brothers), Anthony Ruby, Cory Gray (The Delines, The Decemberists) and Graham Heaney (Saint Sister) amongst others.On his vision for the album, Murphy says: "The pedal steel guitar has unique timbre, tuning and tonal capabilities. It offers rich sustain, swelling glissando and the ability to bend expressive and mournful notes that merge seamlessly and elastically into changing chords. Its unmistakable, crying sound is identified on hundreds of acclaimed records in folk and country genres. In the 21st century, it has continued its evolution into electronica, ambient and experimental music realms. With this record, my objective was to take the instrument away from its excursions across well-worn roads through the dusty American south and southwest and deeper into a world much closer to home and, for the very first time, present it in a modern Irish framework."Set for release on 19th April 2024 on Rollercoaster Records and presented visually with stunning artwork by Craig Carry, it will be available on 180-gram Vinyl, CD and Digital from all major platforms and retailers.
Taking the instrument outside the confines of its traditional roots, Murphy has accumulated a growing list of recording and live credits. He can regularly be seen and heard on stage and in the studio with diverse Irish artists such as The Lost Brothers, John Blek & The Rats, Arborist, Cian Nugent, Ordnance Survey, Greenshine and The Remedy Club amongst others as well as touring or performing alongside acclaimed international artists such as Willy Vlautin, The Delines, Richmond Fontaine, M. Ward and Jolie Holland.
2024 sees Murphy take his first steps out of the shadows as a solo artist with the release of his own full-length studio album 'Cuimhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar' on the Rollercoaster Records label. This continues his quest to expand the vocabulary of the instrument and take it in new and exciting directions.
Murphy’s all-instrumental debut album recasts ancient Irish harp tunes and historic airs by O’Carolan, O’Riada et al into the 21st century, voiced by the mysterious, emotive and swelling sound of the pedal steel guitar. Supported by an all-star cast of musicians from across contemporary, modern-classical and folk worlds, the pedal steel ably takes its place within an ensemble featuring cello, violin, piano, harp, uilleann pipes and lush electronic textures and synths. Across 40 minutes, the album conjures a palette of sparse, dreamlike, atmospheric soundscapes and stirring, cinematic takes of these culturally significant compositions and melodies from Ireland’s great harpers, composers and song collectors.
This record promises to be a must-listen for fans of pedal steel guitar, atmospheric soundtracks, traditional Irish music, contemporary experimental, ambient and modern-classical music. It features a diverse cast of supporting musicians including Peter Broderick (Efterklang, Erased Tapes), Steve Wickham (The Waterboys, Sinead O'Connor, U2), Laura McFadden (Arborist), Aisling Urwin (Woven Kin), Alannah Thornburgh, Rory McCarthy (Notify), Mark McCausland (The Lost Brothers), Anthony Ruby, Cory Gray (The Delines, The Decemberists) and Graham Heaney (Saint Sister) amongst others.
On his vision for the album, Murphy says: "The pedal steel guitar has unique timbre, tuning and tonal capabilities. It offers rich sustain, swelling glissando and the ability to bend expressive and mournful notes that merge seamlessly and elastically into changing chords. Its unmistakable, crying sound is identified on hundreds of acclaimed records in folk and country genres. In the 21st century, it has continued its evolution into electronica, ambient and experimental music realms. With this record, my objective was to take the instrument away from its excursions across well-worn roads through the dusty American south and southwest and deeper into a world much closer to home and, for the very first time, present it in a modern Irish framework."
Set for release on 19th April 2024 on Rollercoaster Records and presented visually with stunning artwork by Craig Carry, it will be available on 180-gram Vinyl, CD and Digital from all major platforms and retailers.
― omar little, Wednesday, 3 July 2024 16:55 (one month ago) link
he's mentioned a few times in this thread, so i'll ask you, Post-Fahey Crew:
Recognized for his compelling transliterations of traditional music, Fussell took an atypical approach to the material on When I’m Called, often constructing the music from the ground up before considering what existing source material could be applied to the song.
what does this mean? it's taken from PR copy about his new album.
― alpine static, Sunday, 14 July 2024 00:18 (one month ago) link
I've seen him, I think it means that he adapts parts of existing traditional songs with his own new elements, and does covers where he changes up parts of the song, but yeah that's really confusing writing
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 14 July 2024 13:44 (one month ago) link
With how finicky youtube notifications are, I got randomly notified that Jake uploaded a video the other day, he expands a bit on the songwriting process in it, will try to link to it below. Agree with UMS. I also think the presser and the vid are implying a counter to the normal direction that "traditional" musicians write new songs, which is to dig through source material, give a nod to things here and there, and then fit it into their own arrangement. Jake seems to be implying that he's starting to go the opposite direction in the usual sequence.
To us in this thread it probably feels like an odd thing to even mention, because I don't think we're the type of listeners that are overly concerned with the authenticity of what is traditional and what is not ... at least I am not, I'm sure there's a few others that aren't either. There is definitely a contingent out there though, in old-time communities especially, where selective source material is an important factor in the equation to new traditional music. The politics (not in a left/right sense, but in a rule breaking sense) of it all is interesting and I've tried to have friends explain it to me multiple times since it's a bit out of my wheelhouse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwgfjDPiQ6U
― Neal Cassady, Sunday, 14 July 2024 23:18 (one month ago) link
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Music/2024/0711/Jake-Xerxes-Fussell-folk-music?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR34aCRAgiDy9HNhmj6P58YjIGAeKSiFWwIAKqi79ix7kW7ogo2K711LSgU_aem_IO3vX2dJpGMkrbcAM_xaiw
This Jake Xerxes Fussell interview is interesting
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 14 July 2024 23:33 (one month ago) link
he's a tremendously charming live performer
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 15 July 2024 02:42 (one month ago) link
this Lee Underwood reissue is wonderful. Reminds me a little of Basho's Twilight Peaks in the sense that it's comprised of ruminative meditations that are in no apparent hurry and are bathed in effects
― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 15 July 2024 12:49 (one month ago) link
Thanks y'all. I watched that video and will have to read the interview later. Agree with UMS and Neal about what it seems to be saying, which he seems to corroborate in the video interview:
"I tend to play around with things and then wonder what kind of song can go in there."
I'm definitely intrigued ... I find it very hard to imagine what that actually looks like. And that's OK. I could find a way to interview him about it if I want to, and maybe I will and will ask him about it.
To be totally clear, I'm not skeptical or anything. Love JXF and am just would like to better understand what he's talking about. (Maybe he answers it in that interview I haven't read.)
He's in my town soon and I really, really wish I could go see him but I have to be on a plane at 5:30 a.m. the next day. :(
― alpine static, Monday, 15 July 2024 16:36 (one month ago) link