Harry Belafonte live in Ravensburg, Germany, Nov 1988.
Setlist:
Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)
Kwela (Listen to the Man)
Skin to Skin (with Sharon Brooks)
Matilda, Martin Luther King
Island in the Sun
Try to Remember (with Ty Stephens)
Jamaica Farewell
Paradise in Gazankulu
Purchase Harry Belafonte’s music at Amazon
Welcome to the first installment of what I hope will be an ongoing playlist series throughout 2023 where I introduce you to some of my favorite music. I often make playlists for my car and I thought I might as well share them here.
We kick off the series with the Velvet Underground. I tried to keep it to cuts from the studio albums, but I really like “I’m Beginning To See the Light” from 1969: The Velvet Underground Live. Whether you know them or not, I hope you enjoy this playlist.
Setlist:
Who Loves The Sun
Some Kinda Love
Sweet Jane
Sister Ray
I'm Waiting For The Man
Rock & Roll
Beginning To See The Light
Here She Comes Now
I'm Set Free
White Light/White Heat
Run Run Run
Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
What Goes On
There She Goes Again
New Age
The days get shorter and the nights get longer. And colder. As the darkness settles in we wrap ourselves in Harmonies, heartbreak, and hope. The ashes of loss still contain the embers of hope.
Wilco, Son Volt, and Whiskeytown will be obvious touch-points for many, but Dogwood Tales have crafted their own voice (with killer harmonies).
Album opener circles the refrain:
“It’s hard to be in the right place
for the right thing all the time.
It’s hard to be anywhere when I got you on my mind.”
There’s a sense of being caught in a winter storm here sometimes. Our protagonists sometimes don’t quite sure where’ they’re going or even who they are. But there is a pervasive sense of hope throughout the EP. Pedal steel laces through the often forlorn lyrics ushering us in to moments of hope. Even though the nights are long, morning’s on its way. These songs explore love, loss, and heartbreak with clear-eyed honesty. Sometimes it’s hard and we’re not sure where we’re going or if we’ll make it, but the days will again wash in and the light will eventually return. Sometimes the best we can do is hold out for the hope of a better day to see us through the long winter nights.
“Hold You Again” doesn’t back down from the truth of lost chances and lonely new realities. “I know I may never feel it again,” they sing, but we get the sense that it was still worth it. The bright melody and washes of feedback are a sonic blanket against the cold reality. The push and pull; the give and take of life and love try to find their balance in these 5 songs. “It feels like a matter of time before the dark gets hold of me.”
“25” opens with the lines “I just want to wake up and feel like I’m alive because I’ve got some cousins that didn’t see 25.” There is a stark wrestling with reality. These lyrics don’t shy away from death and loss but they don’t swirl the pity party drain either. There’s a search throughout these songs; here’s the reality; we love, we lose, we die, and we try to make sense of it all. What’s it all about? What’s it’s all for? Is the power of love enough to see us through these long dark nights? Dogwood Tales think so and invite you into their sunbaked cosmic Americana world to see what you think. Whatever your conclusion, this is music for those long dark winter nights when we need to be reminded that the light will eventually return. “we’ve still got miles of road to go” they sing on the title track and there is a sense of surety that we’ll get there eventually.
Highly recommended
The Deets:
WH065
Dogwood Tales - 13 Summers 13 Falls
01. Hard To Be Anywhere
02. Hold You Again
03. 25
04. Since Yesterday
05. 13 Summers
releases November 18, 2023 on WarHen Records
Kyle Grim - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Ben Ryan - Electric Guitar, Vocals
Stephen Kuester - Pedal Steel
Danny Gibney - Bass, Organ, Wurlitzer & Piano
Jake Golibart - Drums & Percussion
Produced by Erik Kase Romero
Recorded by Erik Kase Romero and Danny Gibney
All tracks Mixed by Danny Gibney except Hold You Again by Adrian Olsen
Mastered by Garrett Haines
Photograph by Kyle Grim
Check out a recent live session from earlier this year:
As the recent Aquarium Drunkard e-mail says: jaimie "breezy" branch forever!
We are all deeply saddened by branch’s passing. Let’s visit some live breezy.
So far we’ve visited a solo set, a trio set and a two-part live show. Let’s round out the week with this quartet setup, live from 2018. This one includes a bit more information, including the players, which include branch on Trumpet, Anton Hatwich on Bass ,Lester St. Louis on Cello, Chad Taylor on Drums.
This was at: Roulette Intermedium, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn May 28th 2018
As the recent Aquarium Drunkard e-mail says: jaimie "breezy" branch forever!
We are all deeply saddened by branch’s passing. Let’s visit some live breezy.
So far, we/ve visited a solo set and examined two of her songs with lyrics and another one Yesterday we covered a band set, and today is branch in a trio format. As with the other sets, not a lot of information or tracklisting here, but ti’s great nonetheless. This set features Branch on trumpet, Luke Stewart on bass, Mike Pride on drums.
OH, and apparently this was “on Roy Campbell & Steve Dalachinsky's birthday.”
As the recent Aquarium Drunkard e-mail says: jaimie "breezy" branch forever!
We are all deeply saddened by branch’s passing. Let’s visit some live breezy.
Yesterday, we visited a solo set and examined one of her songs with lyrics and another one today. Here is branch with branch on trumpet, Lester St. Louis on cello, Jason Ajemian on bass, and Chad Taylor on drums.
As with the other one, not much information to go by here other than “Jaimie Branch - First Set (New Morning - Paris - July 12th 2021).” No setlist or anything, but you can figure it out if you really want to. I’m just grooving.
Set One:
Set Two:
As the recent Aquarium Drunkard e-mail says: jaimie "breezy" branch forever!
We are all deeply saddened by branch’s passing. Let’s visit some live breezy.
First up is a solo set from “Record Shop - July 2 2022.”
Not much else information about this one, but it’s well worth your time.
Derek Piotr made one of my favorite albums of 2021. If you missed it, I profiled it here. For that album, Piotr mined some pieces from historical folklore while also including original pieces and instrumentation. This sparked a passion in Piotr to focus on archiving vocal recordings. He began archiving vocal recordings in 2020. Like many archivists, Piotr captures poetry, songs, interviews and the like. But what sets this collection apart, Piotr notes, is the “focus of this collection is on the "non-singer"; in other words, someone with no background in musical performance but who can still relate a song or folkloric memory.”
I recently touched base with Piotr about the project and he was kind enough to highlight five recordings which have really stood out to him so far.
01) :: #208 - Helen Barnes-Rielly performing "Le Carillon de Vendôme"
I had gone to Todd, NC, for the 2-year anniversary of the burning of the Todd General Store, and there was a little local T.V. spot going on with the owner, who is feistily trying to rebuild the site right now. Pretty much the only other thing in Todd is this little bakery, run by Helen. I asked her what I ask everyone, if her grandparents or parents sang anything, and she remembered this little bit of a song, which she called "Chapels of France". It stayed in my head for months, so I called her up one day and asked for it again, on tape this time. Turns out it's a children's song from the 1400's that her mother learned in Cincinnati, OH, from some nuns, who have probably been singing it unbroken these 500+ years.
Performed by Helen Barnes-Rielly.
Recorded July 27, 2022 in Todd, North Carolina.
Telephone recording. Fragment. Learned from her mother, Carolyn Mader, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
2: #103 - Jim Prentice performing "The German Clock Winder"
A rare example of Connecticut folk singing! I had gone out to West Cornwall to visit Jane Prentice, an Old-Time fiddle player, and she recalled one little tiny song for me that her grandmother sang, but mostly played her fiddle for me. Jim came in towards the end of our visit, and, though slightly hoarse from work, sang me a couple of songs right there and then, with no notice, including this one. It seems to have come to America from the British settlers; I have found several traditional versions from the UK.
Performed by Jim Prentice.
Recorded March 8, 2022 in West Cornwall, Connecticut.
3: #79 - Ian Patterson performing "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy"
As I walked home one evening from where I was staying in York last summer, I noticed an elderly gentleman supervising construction on his roof. I intuited he might have folklore knowledge and this hunch paid off in spades—Ian's mother was a colleague of Edric Connor's who had traveled to the West Indies when Ian was small to do some field collecting. They collected this song, among many others, and published these songs in a small book. "The Virgin Mary..." in particular found its way into the Cambridge Hymnal, and the rest is history. It was very much a surreal experience to meet the son of the woman who had bridged this carol into broad accessiblity, purely by chance.
Performed by Ian Patterson.
Recorded September 9, 2021 in York, North Yorkshire, UK.
Fragment. Mr. Patterson's mother was a colleague of Edric Connor.
4: #207 - Sandra Noble performing "I've Worked Eight Hours This Day"
I had left a small advertisement in The Dalesman before I left Yorkshire last autumn, and roughly six months later, I got an email from Sandra, who insisted on singing this song (twice!) down WhatsApp for me. "He was a sea-captain, born 1876", she said of her grandfather. "He probably knew more risqué songs than that, but that's the one I remember. I came to live with my granny and grandad when I was 3 or 4." Bonus points for their hometown's name: Robin Hood's Bay! Spry listeners may also note some of Sandra's variation: Johnny Hooligan becomes Patsy Dooligan, and Donegal whiskers become "galigan".
Performed by Sandra Noble.
Recorded July 13, 2022 in Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire, UK.
Telephone recording. One verse. Learned from her grandfather, Robert Watson (b. 1876).
5: #210 - Judy Arrowood performing "Don't Sell Daddy Anymore Whiskey"
Judy is related to the Bares and Turbyfills several times over; she was the last informant I visited In North Carolina this year and lived literally at the intersection of Elk Park Highway and Turbyfill Road. I spent several hours with Judy, who initially could recall Lena Turbyfill vividly, but nothing specifically musical; it was only when we got on the subject of Lena's sister-in-law Ethel Bare Turbyfill that Judy remembered Ethel's children, Shirley and Evelyn singing this song.
Performed by Judy Arrowwood.
Recorded August 4, 2022 in Smoky Straight, Newland, North Carolina.
Fragment. Learned from Shirley and Evelyn Bare.
Staraya Derevnya is a psychedelic/kraut-folk collective based in London and Tel Aviv. Active since 1994, the group’s newest album Boulder Blues will be out August 5th on Ramble Records. Recorded between 2020 - 2022 in Israel and the UK, the album percolates and bubbles with creativity. A collective of varying size and members, this iteration consists of 11 people, and album credits include “cries and whispers,” silent cello (which apparently is a very real thing, though somehow it would still make sense even if it wasn’t), “objects,” and a marching band kazoo.
How does one make sense of such music? Maybe that’s not the point, but if we need landmarks to help find our way; then maybe the meditative groovy bass foundations of Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin and Natural Information Society or some of the murkier moments from Animal Collective or Paavoharju come to mind, but only as touchpoints. They are the friendly neighbors you meet on the path to Staraya Derev. Like the cover artwork, one is left with more questions than answers, and sometimes that’s the point.
My son calls it “spooky alien music but in a good way.” Krautrock grooves underpin an ever evolving sound collage. Instruments, voices, and noises sometimes float by barely notices and sometimes shock you back into the groove. Concrete Islands uses the phrase “murmurations from unknown tongues” to describe the bands music, and that seems about as apt as any description we’re likely to conjure.
The title track emerges from primordial squigglings over an ever-reliably-chugging bassline and builds upon a repeated phrase dervishly swirling and repeating and building and repeating and building and swirling. The piece doesn’t so much resolve as exhaust itself in experimental ecstasy. ‘Tangled Hands’s fleeting fog swirls through the atmosphere punctuated by skronks and ambient waves.
The album’s centerpiece, the nearly 21-minute ‘Bubbling Pelt’ was recorded live at TUSK Festival 2020. The piece bubbles and swirls over minimal but hypnotic bass rumblings. Percussion skitters back and forth until becoming one with the ether. As the bass returns, wind instruments and electronic squiggles reveal themselves from the fog, forming a nice relaxed groove which gives home to all sorts of vocalizations.
Though heavy on krautrock repetition, this is not background music. Though it requires your attention, it grooves in unexpected ways.
Boulder Blues is out August 05th on Ramble Records and is highly recommended.
Watch ‘Bubbling Pelt’ performed live at TUSK Festival 2020 here:
Many thanks to Harvey G. Cohen for pointing out this fantastic live set on Twitter. Harvey says:
“Earlier this year, Sons of Kemet, quite possibly the best band in jazz today, announced they are disbanding by the end of the year. Terrible news. But here is a newly filmed concert of theirs, live in London. Awesome. And not just because they have a tuba:”
Setlist:
Pick Up Your Burning Cross
Think Of Home
In Remembrance Of Those Fallen
Throughout The Madness, Stay Strong
I’ll be honest: I’ve tried to dig Goose several times. I’ve watched several live sets and lots of people I respect dig them. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t connect with them. I think it may have something to do with the moustaches and my own biases. You see, my Dad had a mustache, and any time I try to grow one, I just see my Dad in the mirror, and I love my Dad, but that’s not what you want to see when you look in the mirror.
Anyhoo: (as always), I’m on a big Kurt Vonnegut kick, and I just watched the 2021 documentary which included the quote from Cat’s Cradle: “As Bokonon says: 'peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from god.” That’s when Pitchfork decided to review the bands newest album Dripfield and I decided to give them another try.
Brady Gerber’s review includes this short section:
Watching their viral set at Peach Fest 2019—which, like many Goose sets, you can stream in full on YouTube—I thought wow, these guys can play. But it wasn’t just their virtuosic performances: Between the sprawling solos, they had actual songs that I walked away humming.
So, like any good Bokononist would, I went and watched that “viral'“ 2019 Peach Fest set. And I ended up digging it. A Lot. I sent it to my brother and a friend with the caption: “I think I might have been won over.” You see, they too had tried Goose before and found it not to their taste. But this set won them both over just like it did me. Maybe it will do the same for you. Maybe not. Either way, I hope you enjoy and occasionally stop along to remember that “I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.”
The Deets:
Goose plays Peach Fest 2019 in Scranton, PA.
Setlist:
Madhuvan
Time to Flee
All I Need
Wysteria Lane
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
Arcadia
The Way It Is
Hot Tea
Trey Anastasio of that band from VT sat in the other night with Goose in NYC and thanks to the wonders of the technology, you can watch it right here right now:
The Deets:
Goose - Hungersite → Arcadia (feat. Trey Anastasio) - 6/25/22 Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY
Here is the band’s official video for Hungersite:
Pittsburgh guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Ernie Francestine’s third album Character of Light will be released July 22 by WarHen Records.
Francestine is a music teacher and plays in multiple acts, including the Buckle Downs. But whereas the Buckle Downs mine soulful R&B, Francestine’s newest solo album takes a quieter turn but demands your attention nonetheless.
Ernie says:
“Character Of Light was born in Spring of 2021 when Warren Parker of WarHen Records reached out about recording a solo album. I dove in and immediately began writing and compiling ideas.
I wanted to record an album inspired by the music I listen to most. Character Of Light brings together hints of folk, ambient, traditional acoustic music and Tropicalia.”
Character of Light feels immediate yet nostalgic. Francestine says he wanted the album “to feel like a welcome guest at any time of day in any season” and he has succeeded. This is music for all seasons; on the porch at dusk, or serenading the sunrise. The music is warm, welcoming and intriguing. Guitar lines weave in and out of one another while Moog synthesizers and field recordings add ambient wash. The music feels lived in (in the best possible way) yet reveals new details with each listen.
Character of Light (both the album and the song) arise in a gentle wash of guitar and invokes whatever may come with a wistful hopefulness. This is instrumental music with a voice. In “Two Birds,” that voice is the sparse but not spare piano melody floating above guitar and building into a worldless chorus that is somehow both hopeful and forlorn. “Everything is Transparent”soulfully saunters down a melody lane that you know you’ve never been down before but somehow feels familiar; like home. “Wild Purple” conveys that memory on the tip of your tongue that doesn’t need to be spoken after all. “The Stone & The Evergreen (Pt. 1).” closes the album with a melody you feel like you’ve known your whole life. And maybe you have and Francestine is just reminding us.
Check out "Two Birds:”
I recently had a chance to catch up with Ernie to chat about the project.
Tell us about the title, Character of Light:
I had been kicking around ideas for a title for a long time and a few contenders came and went. I was having trouble getting the last track of the record (Character of Light) written and recorded and I just stumbled upon this phrase in my head and I immediately knew it was going to the title of the record and of the last song I was finishing up. I like the ambiguity of it and I also think it encapsulates what the record is about. It feels like the record.
This music is very different from your other projects. Was it difficult for you to “find a voice” in instrumental music?
Writing for my other band (the Buckle Downs. is very different and I really wanted to do something that I could see the entire project through to the end myself. One principle I use in writing music is eliminating anything that will slow me down. I have my entire recording set up ready to go at any moment and after recording my first instrumental recording during the pandemic (The Quiet Shift) - I knew I wanted to continue in this genre because it felt like the one with the least amount of restrictions to actually completing a chorus…a song….an album. I am able to see tangible progress without second guessing if it needs drums, a different melody or changing lyrics.
Was there a vision beyond “an instrumental album?”
I think he heard my previous release "The Quiet Shift" and was interested in something with a similar vibe. I would say that this one builds on that release. That one was recorded entirely on my iPad with no more than one overdub on each track. This one is definitely more layered and uses a wider variety of instruments.
You note that you wanted to record an album "inspired by the music" you listen to most. Who might be a few artists that were touchstones or inspirations for this project? What music do you listen to most?
I listen to ….instrumental music the most. Whether that’s jazz, Brazilian music, Afro beat, tropicalia, instrumental folk guitar. I like figuring out the emotion the music is trying to convey without the help of lyrics.
What’s next for you?
Whats next: am really feeling inspired to keep this going and try to work more within the sound I've created for myself. I've got conceptual ideas for a few albums in my head and usually the one that wins out is the one I sit down and start working on. I've learned to always try and make the demo a usable take because we used a lot of demo takes on the final tracks of this record. So I feel set up with more knowledge and better processes to compose in a more efficient manner.
All proceeds from the sales of this album will be donated to Everytown, an organization fighting for sensible gun laws across the country.
www.everytown.org
Indie rock sister act Detective Blind's debut single 'Tell Me' is out now. Eldest sister Montgomery is billed as a “15-year old Broadway Vet,” but otherwise, there’s not much online about this young band (yet) except that they’re sisters, they used to be a cover band and now they rock.
Can’t wait to hear more from these sisters.
I think I’ve shared this before, but we drive a 12-passenger van. Because, of course we do. What else are we going to drive? The kids broke the AUX input several years ago, but the CD player works. So sometimes we make mixes especially for the van. Sometimes they are various playlists, and sometimes they are artist-specific. One of our favorite artists as a family is Seattle’s Blue Scholars.
I’m not sure if they ever broke up or if they’re just on some weird hiatus, but I don’t think they have released music together since 2011’s Cinémetropolis. Anyways, if you don’t know, them, Blue Scholars are (were?) a politically conscious Seattle hip hop duo. Formed in 2002 while members, DJ Sabzi (Saba Mohajerjasbi) and MC Geologic (George Quibuyen) were both students at the University of Washington. The duo put out 3 full-length albums, 4 EPs and a lot of singles. All of which is worth hunting down while the group is on hiatus(?).
Here’s the releases I drew from:
Tracklist:
Solstice: Reintroduction from Blue Scholars
Fire For the People from Bayani
Lalo Schifrin from Cinematropolis
Bruise Brothers from Blue Scholars
Joe Metro from Bayani
New People from Ooof!
Sagaba from Blue Scholars
Fou Lee from Cinematropolis
Blue School from Blue Scholars
Still Got Love from Bayani
Selfportrait from Blue Scholars
Southside Revival from The Long March EP
Seijun Suzuki from Cinematropolis
The Inkwell from Blue Scholars
Hi-808 from Oof!
Marion Sunshine from Cinematropolis
Motion Movement from Blue Scholars
Yuri Kochiyama from Cinematropolis
Evening Chai from Blue Scholars
It’s only February, but I can already tell you that Jake Xerxes Fussell’s newest album Good and Green Again will be on my year-end favorites list.
Drawing from folk, American and even bits of Appalachian music, Fussell has created a beautiful, challenging and yet hopeful album. His incorporation of strings and horns (sometimes reminding me of Gregory Alan Isakov flourishes) brings a lushness to the music that’s comfortable in all the right ways.
Earlier this year, Fussell recorded his (at home) NPR Tiny Desk Concert. According to NPR: “Fussell recorded at a friend's home in Pittsboro, N.C., with Casey Toll on upright bass and Libby Rodenbough on violin, harmonium and backup vocals. The mantle behind them is adorned with a tiny desk surrounded by various vegetable-shaped candles.”
You’re not going to find much better things to do with 18 minutes. Give it a try:
Setlist:
“The River St. Johns"
"Have You Ever Seen Peaches Growing on a Sweet Potato Vine?"
"Breast of Glass"
Players:
Jake Xerxes Fussell: guitar, vocals
Libby Rodenbough: violin, harmonium, backing vocals
Casey Toll: upright bass
Their label describes them as “Jewish mystics/drone/space pop explorers” and that gives you a pretty good starting point.
Solilans is the project of keyboardist Benjamin Malkin and began when Malkin wrote a 7” soundtrack for Ian Densford’s Binah Comics, a “super-powers tale sans violence”
Now a quartet featuring two vocalists, Neptune Sweet (Electric Djinn) and Sharon Malkin.
In the Running 2 is the second in I Heart Noise’s ongoing In the Running series and the second featuring Solilans. The first was a split EP with Boston’s Skyjelly. But this release find the attention placed on Solilans. As far as I can tell, “Klezmische” is a clever play on the group’s fusion of Kosmische with Klezmer music. If that’s difficult to imagine, you’re on the right track.
Fusing psychedelic, ambient, drone, and folk and even Indian instrumentation, the group creates sonic soundscapes that wash over you and wrap around your soul. With hypnotic, trance-like vocals, you might think of something along the lines of Sky Cries Mary (anyone remember them?). But this is truly original and creative music. There’s a balance throughout the release that weaves in and out itself. The disparate elements create a tension that keeps you engaged while the swooning vocals and repeating loops provide counteract that tension with mesmerizing effect. This balance between tension and release/relaxation is a wonderful musical theme throughout. I can’t wait to hear more from Solilans.
Highly recommended.
Preview:
The fine and fabulous folks over at Foxy Digitalis premiered the video for “Old Schmeckled Hen” earlier this year. Check it:
As we enter Junior Year of the Pandemic, I have been looking outside of the expected places for comfort, assurance, and even meaning.
In those olden days of yore, the “Elders” or the “wise ones of a city” might meet at the city gate where they would gather to discuss life’s complexities and to offer advice to those who asked.
I know none of you asked, and I don’t claim to be wise, but if any of you ever wanted to meet at the gate, here would be my advice.
Setlist:
Let Us Make a Record by Sister Gertrude Morgan
I'm So Happy And Free The Lord Save Me by Rev. Lonnie Farris
Wonderful by Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah by Indian Bottom Association
Jesus Will Provide by Isaiah Owens
Fix It Jesus by Reverend Charlie Jackson
Higher Power by Ramsay Midwood
People Get Ready by Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers
I Have A Savior I Can by Leon Pinson
Yeah, Lord! Jesus is Able by Rev. Louis Overstreet
I Was Healed By The Wounds In His Side by Sister Gertrude Morgan
A Little More Faith by Reverend Gary Davis
Pray For Me by Leon Pinson
Is There Anybody Here Who Loves My Jesus? by Rev. Louis Overstreet
Take Care of Us by Revelations
God’s Got It by Reverend Charlie Jackson
Joyful Noise by Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir
The Lord’s Prayer by The Spiritualaires of Hurtsboro, Alabama
God’s Gonna Separate by Reverend Gary Davis
Take Your Burdens To The Lord by Washington Phillips
God’s Mighty Hand by Rev. Utah Smith
I Want To Ride That Glory Train by The Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir
