Folk 420 Items

The Infamous Stringdusters aus Nashville gelten als eine der besten und innovativsten Bluegrass-Bands unserer Zeit, sie traten mit Dolly Parton, Earl Scruggs und Bobby Osborne auf, belegten mehrmals die #1 der US-Bluegrass-Charts und erhielten 2018 sogar einen Grammy Award für das beste Bluegrass-Album. Nun veröffentlichen sie das Weihnachtsalbum "Dust The Halls" mit 10 zeitlosen Xmas-Klassikern in ihrem unverwechselbaren, groovy Style.

"With a nod to the past and a firm foot down on the gas toward the future, the 'Dusters... don't leave bluegrass behind, they're stretching it from within." - New York Times

Part retrospective, part metamorphosis, The Midnight Pine Live at A.D. finds a band fully realizing itself with searing, updated interpretations of its carefully produced studio recordings. When The Midnight Pine first appeared in 2013, it established an ethereal take on western Americana, the sound of acoustic strums and humming organ keys channeled by the cool night air, adorned by rattling chains, hand-claps, and transistor radio sweeps. Against this backdrop emerged the staggering talent of Shelbi Bennett, who’s preternaturally practiced voice reveals a combination of sweetness and power rarely seen since the days of Dusty Springfield and Cass Elliot. Over the course of three albums, the psychedelic folk of those first stirrings has evolved, as has the band itself. Since signing with the Redwoods Music label in 2015, The Midnight Pine has increasingly drawn from The Redwoods’ collective of accomplished Southern California musicians, swelling to seven members, who’ve added layers upon layers of vintage tones and fleshed out percussion to build on the songs penned by prolific lyricist and co-founder of the band, Alfred Howard. Recorded live at the Audio Design recording studio, where most Redwoods Music recordings are produced using analog equipment, these updated tunes represent The Midnight Pine as it currently stands, with more spirited rock underpinnings informed by electric guitar tones, chewy basslines, and the timeless vibe of Rhodes organ. The new arrangements also give Bennett a chance to build on her own performances. Working with familiar material embellished over countless live performances, her vocals on this new release are less constrained, yet at the same time more refined, offering tantalizing glimpse of the direction this young singer and band are heading.

France is the trio of Jeremie Sauvage on electric bass, Mathieu Tilly on drums and Yann Gourdon on amplified hurdy-gurdy. They play one note / one rhythm producing energetic performances reminiscent of the early collaborations between Faust and Tony Conrad. Creativly recycled influences result in intense shows with pounding overtones and repetitive pulsing rhythms. Loud straight and trance-inducing.

The pertinency of the recordings only slowly appear On “Occitanie" in the mass of sound, the rhythmic repetition and the elongated drones. The hurdy-gurdy forces you deeper, highlighting points of microtonal flux, cracking open the single note, the nodding rhythm, to imply the presence of every note, every sound, inside it. The insensible evolution, lurks in a corner of noise and finally imposes itself slowly on careful listening.

The band members of France perform in various other projects: Tanz Mein Herz, Toad and Jérico, all are member of the collective La Novià, an organisation based in Haute-Loire which brings together professional musicians and is a place for reflection and experimentation around traditional and / or experimental music.