So I have been a bit MIA around here lately, so long time no chat? I thought I would put down some tunes here based on a referral from fellow blogger Tart over at Love Shack, Baby. Tart was watching The Wailing Wall playing in Chicago and immediately tweeted that I needed to listen & pick up the new album.
Who is “The Wailing Wall”? Well it is 23 year old multi instrumentalist Jesse Rifkin. Again, it always makes me feel old when you find someone so young that seems so talented. But I digress.
So…the new album “The Low Hanging Fruit” is from JDub Records (see here) but alas, it is sold out currently from the site (but pre-order the bonus track version on iTunes). Good sign I think. So…what do you do now? Well you listen to the numerous available free downloads from the label of course! Well with that thought I have been listening to this fringe folk artist’s demos and earlier works and they indeed deserve a shout out for purchase. I have included a favourite track “Dear Mother” with the demo and final version from the Hospital Blossoms album. Its a great little diddy, especially the uber lo-fi start to the final version – frickin’ good. Also attached is the album title track for juxtapose (or not) to the remainder of the songs.
Find the remainder of the downloads on his artist page over on JDub (here) along with some bonus tracks from Archive.org (here). You can also find all the links in one convenient location on his MySpace page, along with a crap load of other info (here).
~Smansmith
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A special tip for Laura, who asked us, some of our favorite banjo songs, few days ago. I forget to mention in my top list these days : Pieces from Danny Leggett.
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It rarely happens but it happened: last Saturday I foresaked my mountain, accompanied by part of my offspring, and hit the road to a lost abbey, somewhere in the piedmont region, near Aurignac.
No, it’s not my piety that forced me into visiting this magnificent place. Why spread the gospel around in the plains when altitude tends to make you more audible?
Yes, it’s my passion for Fraser Anderson’s music. After a winter of shoveling snow, bringing down trees and chopping wood, this was a well-deserved break from this isolated spot. I admit, they make me laugh at times, those songwriters that lock themselves up in a cabin lodge for six months to find the muse. I live here throughout the year and I don’t have any time to spare on writing songs. Jealous, Me? I sing out loud, bawdy songs, while splitting wood which has a double merit to it ; keeping the bear away and warming up my throat. But I digress…
And what a surprise! I was supposed to witness a one man show. Not only did the evening promise to be one of the best in this place full of history, when the presenter announced to the hundred or so audience that two folk magicians would take turns to offer us a memorable evening: Fraser Anderson and Paul Tiernan! Yes!
For almost a year I constantly have been missing out on the inevitable ‘Private Folk Sessions’ offered by this Pyrenean neighbour (Mr Anderson and his family chose to settle in Ariège)… and here we were, getting double compensation by two doses of excellent whiskey’s: Irish and Scottish!
Nearly 2 metres tall -or is it my admiration that made him look gigantic?- the Scotsman opens the first set under a scattered applause by a timorous crowd. The voice is there, even more spellbinding than on his first 2 albums. It’s undoubtedly the most important istrument of this storyteller. It takes us so high. What a delectation! But not without taking into account his dexterity on the chords. Rhythmic as well as melodic, he handles his guitar with virtuosity, which offers his words a magnificent support anchored in the pure folk tradition, but allowing himself some dazzling forays tending to the blues and jazz. 45 minutes and a fistful of songs later, just as the audience was getting warmed up, the set of this tall bearded man was already completed.
A set of such intensity and variety that to this day it leaves me speechless, still enchanted by the magic. A mere two tracks of his previous albums were played, so the evening was dedicated to his forthcoming album, that should be released in the Autumn. What a density, what an anthology of dazzling tracks. This album will be a monument and I will take a bet on it, a masterpiece even. I’m not minimizing the quality of his first two, merely enunciating. It’s simply realizing what a huge talent this is!
A 15 minute break offered us the chance to congratulate the artist, whose kindness and availability undoubtedly surpass his ability to handle Voltaire’s language. I just had to put down a negative point of critique! Thereafter we rejoined the public for the second set, the one of Paul Tiernan.
It’s my friend Colby Stead that, nearly 4 years ago, made me discover the album ‘Belle‘ by this enchanting Irishman. To those who are not familiar with the music of Paul Tiernan, I dare to make a comparison with Paul McCartney’s melody talent enhanced by a real ability to carry us away. To charm us, Paul chooses to open up with the ballad ‘Breakfast in Bed’, also the first track on his latest album ‘Earthquakes start with little cracks’. Soft notes perfumed by the Mediterranean, vocally accompanied by Fraser Anderson… magic time! Follows ‘Cracks in the pavement’ and ‘Skinny’. Even if the accents are more electric than the ones by Anderson, Tiernan offers us a magical trip into the very heart of his emotions. Once again, way too short, even when considering the encore.
I can’t but truly advise you to discover or listen again to these two phenomena, and to offer you the space to enjoy one of these fabulous voyages.
Ante Scriptum : I’m currently deleting all audio files posted on this site before 2009. It’s seems that our little place on the web is consuming to much bandwidth… Jumping from a post to another, it’s always tempting to visit every artist website and check what’s new ! This is the reason that land me on Trappers Cabin brand new website.
“- Hey What Time is it ?”
“- Shhhh I can’t hear the radio ”
“- In the deep dark woods of the North Georgia Mountains there’s only one man you’ve got to hear : Trappers Cabin !”
Not yet familiar to this jingle ? Connect this page and grab your first episode !
But if Trappers Cabin website is reduced to this single show counting 5 episodes so far, there’s a brand new myspace page where four brand new tracks (as far as I know) are published. Immerse yourself in this mix of 1970′s british psychedelic with tones of folk ! Awesome. Hope an album will be soon released !!!
Although the The North Farm Sessions EP by Jonny & Lucy came out in February it’s only now i’ve been able to find time to post about it. Just finished wowing audiences supporting the magnificent Unthanks on a european tour they are now lined up to play some major festivals, namely Larmer tree, Green man and the best festival in the uk, The End Of The Road Festival. As an added bonus they will also be playing for us here in Brighton as part of a drifter promotions show straight after the end of the road gig, come along.
Even Jonny & Lucy can’t agree on how they would describe their music, Jonny say’s melancholic Lucy say’s thoughtful. Either way, it’s folk music drenched in an old traditional sound, it could easily be music from 100 years ago, however, apart from hares on the mountain, all other tracks on this six track EP are all their own. Jonny sings and plays guitar very sensitively to support Lucy’s fabulous voice and fiddle.It’s also nice to hear jonny sing in his accent (Geordie, like me) and along with Lucy’s sweeter, southern perhaps posher tone it works amazingly well. It’s all the things you’d expect, delicate, sparse, even mournful but together they create something really quite wondrous. None of them are trying to take the limelight, the balance is perfect, when they sing together it’s a combination that feels totally organic. So now the secret’s out, they are being haled in some press as the next big thing to hit the REAL folk scene, one word describes them for me, genuine.
Try and see them play if they come by your town but if this is too long a wait you can buy their debut EP here. Enjoy.
I landed on Benjamin Francis Leftwich myspace page while listening to his song “More than Letters”definitely one of the most brilliant track on the Communion compilation record.
Benjamin Francis Leftwich is a 20 year old talented english songwriter from York. He’s first EP “A Million Miles Out” will be released in the early days of this fall produced by Ian Grimble (Manic Street Preachers, Travis, Texas). It will be followed by a full length on March 2011. Yes, I know, I’m not late on this one… but pay attention to the following songs, and I guess you’ll add those two dates on your own calendar.
Seduced by a beautiful single “Legion” then by a second one “O’ Deceit”, it’s been couple months i’m eagerly awaiting for Melbourne songwriter Lindsay Phillips first solo album ‘Varning’ to be released. Patience has been rewarded. “Varning” is a superb collection of acoustic guitar driven ballads enhanced by Lindsay Phillips singular dark voice.
As usual when an album is so good from start to end, there’s no hesitation giving you the first track as an appetizer for your ears.
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