Favourite albums of 2010 !
décembre 10th, 2010
Here is a selection of seven records we have listen very often this last year, we hope you’ll enjoy. Feel free to leave your comments and to give us your favorites of 2010 !
#1 / Kurt Wagner And Cortney Tidwell – « Invariable Heartache »
Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell - She Came Around Last Night
#2 / Pernice Brothers – « Goodbye, Killer »
Pernice Brothers - Not The Loving Kind
#3 / The Love Language – « Libraries »
The Love Language - Anthophobia
#4 / The Black Keys – « Brothers »
The Black Keys - Everlasting Light
#5 / The Leisure Society – « The Sleeper »
The Leisure Society - Save It For Someone Who Cares
#6 / Cocorosie – « Grey Oceans »
#7 / Joanna Newsom – « Have One On Me »
Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell – new video and mini documentary
octobre 11th, 2010
Kurt Wagner and Cortney Tidwell have posted a music video « Picking Wild Mountain Berries » and a short documentary in anticipation of the recorded debut of Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell present KORT and their debut collaborative album, Invariable Heartache.
The story behind Invariable Heartache is also told in an eloquent and moving mini documentary. ‘Bringing Chart Records Back To Life’, filmed in Nashville, again by Zack Spiger.
Kurt Wagner and Cortney Tidwell - Incredibly Lonely
“Not so much a replication, but more of a study in reclamation. We were into the idea of making a record of the type of country that we all seemed to hold in high regard, not for the kitschy-ness or the retro-ness, but for the beauty and simplicity it could impart to the listener” – Kurt Wagner, July 2010.
INVARIABLE HEARTACHE is an album inspired by a shared love of Nashville and its musical traditions. Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner – a long time champion of the city’s history and charms – and Cortney Tidwell – whose family have, for decades, played a significant part in the city’s (country) musical life – are both fervent admirers of the music that has emerged from the city.
It was an early collaboration on Cortney’s Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up album that led to the two of them performing together at Nashville club The Basement in the summer of 2008. Such was the crowd’s overwhelming response that evening that the idea of a duets album was born, and though work didn’t begin for well over a year the concept was never forgotten. It was discussion about Cortney’s family history that led them to the Chart Records catalogue, a label run by Cortney’s grandfather Slim Williamson, A&Red later by her father Cliff Williamson, and for which her mother Connie Eaton also recorded.
The result of their subsequent fascination with what they discovered on dusty forgotten vinyl is an album that pays tribute to art of the duet and the classic songwriting that lay behind many of the albums and singles released by the label, a tribute on a grander scale to the forgotten sounds of ‘Music City USA’. cityslang.com
‘Incredibly Lonely’ is a cover of a song recorded by Gene & Rod for Nashville’s Chart Records in 1968. Although the song is available for free, those downloading it are encouraged to make a donation at their own discretion to the Community Foundation Of Middle Tennessee. Kurt and Cortney were in the middle of recording when, at the start of May 2010, Nashville and other areas in Tennessee became victims of appalling flooding caused by well over twenty inches of rain in less than two days. The tragedy went almost unreported: ‘bigger’ events such as the attempted bombing of New York’s Times Square and the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico meant that the significant loss of life and the destruction of homes and buildings throughout Tennessee remained almost ignored.
Grants from the fund will be made to nonprofits supporting relief, restoration and clean-up efforts in the Davidson County area in the aftermath of the flooding and storms.
The album was produced by Wagner, and recorded by Cortney’s husband Todd Tidwell and Roger Moutenot, who’s worked for Yo la Tengo and Lambchop in the past. It features a cast of Nashville musicians, and will be released on October 18 2010.
Tracklist:
Incredibly Lonely (recorded for Chart Records by Gene & Rod, 1968)
Eyes Look Away (recorded for Chart Records by Tom Tall, 1964)
A Special Day (recorded for Chart Records by Karen Wheeler, 1972)
Picking Wild Mountain Berries (recorded for Chart Records by LaWanda Lindsey & Kenny Vernon, 1970)
Yours Forever (recorded for Chart Records by Neil McBride, 1963)
He’s Only A Memory Away (recorded for Chart Records by Dawn Glass, 1974)
She Came Around Last Night (recorded for Chart Records by Wes Helm, 1967)
Penetration (recorded for Chart Records by Three Heads, 1968)
April’s Fool (recorded for Chart Records by Tony Martin, )
I Can’t Sleep With You (recorded for Chart Records by Charlene Davidson, 1973)
Let’s Think About Where We’re Going (recorded for Chart Records by LaWanda Lindsey & Kenny Vernon, 1970)
Who’s Gonna Love Me Now (recorded for ABC Dunhill by Connie Eaton, 1975)
Lambchop, the Daytrotter Session (May 5, 2010)
mai 12th, 2010
Emil Friis – The Road To Nashville
avril 30th, 2010
an interview with Emil Friis
août 1st, 2009
What’s your story with music ?
My dad worked in a record store when I was a kid, so there would always be records playing at home. All kinds of stuff really, but I remember Elvis being played a lot. I love Elvis. But I never had any big dreams of being a musician or songwriter or anything like that. I wanted to make movies, which I guess is kinda naive coming from a guy who’s very disorganized. Anyway, after throwing in the towel on the whole movie thing, to my fortune, my old friend Folke Olsen got me into songwriting and later on singing and performing. I stumble unto it you might say.
What are your projects for the up coming months ?
Well my current project is about 55cm and weighs 4,6 kilos. I’d like to watch him grow for a while before doing anything else.
Is there a new album to come ?
I’m planning to be back in the studio with my band by the end of the year or the beginning of 2010. Peter Von Poehl is gonna help me produce it which I’m very excited about. But I don’t have any release date yet or even a label. Maybe I’ll put it out myself. We’ll just have to wait and see I guess.
Do you have any plans to tour ?
It looks like I’ll be back in the UK in October or November. I would really like to come back to France too, but dont have a booking agent there at the moment.
What are you doing when you don’t play music ?
I try to make ends meet. Kinda like what Charles Bukowski did before he made it. Although I probably dont drink as much as he did.
What are you currently listening to, any recommended records ?
Some one gave me the Allison Krauss/Robert Plant album a while back. There’s some really good stuff on there. Fantastic players and a killer production. The latest Jolie Holland album is a good one too. And Neko Case of course.
Did you ever plan to sing a song with someone else ?
I actually did a duet with my good friend Jason Freeman at Electraphonic Studios in Memphis last year. The Cuckoo Bird it was. Jason is an amazing artist, out of this world really. You should check him out. I’m sure you’ll love his music !
Are you involved in the engineering process of your recordings, do you enjoy and care about sound recording or do you just like playing and singing ?
I think it’s really important to be involved in all aspects of producing a record. I mean, if you’re gonna put up the money and you even have your name on the cover, you have to take it serious. So many records that come out now sound like shit. And they all sound the same too. They have no dynamics. For some reason people think they can let technology do all the work, but if you don’t have a great sounding band you’ll never have a great sounding record. What’s very important too, is you need a good sound engineer. Just because you want to make record doesn’t mean you know how to engineer one. Even though you bought the newest mac computer with all the right plugins and software.
Why do you choose to record your last album in Sweden rather than Nashville or Memphis ?
The studio I used for both Mutineer and Tennessee Theft is only a 45 min drive from Copenhagen, so it was very convenient. Since everybody in my band are danish, it’s easier on the wallet to record closer to home. However I got both those records mastered in the states. Mutineer in California and Tennessee Theft in Memphis. I go to Memphis as much as I can. Memphis is a great town.
Is there a song you wish you had written ?
I don’t think like that, I just write songs. But I must say Pancho and Lefty by Townes Van Zandt is a really powerful song and I guess it was kind of his golden egg too. I wouldn’t mind have a golden egg myself.
Listening to your music, it’s really impossible to imagine that you’re Danish. Is it a reaction, a kind of rejection of your own culture or an immoderate love for american music ?
I don’t reject anything. But like most people in Europe I’ve been exposed to American culture all my life. Some people get into Rap Music, I got into Country, Blues, Rock N Roll and all the rest. And it’s not a new thing either. Look at the Beatles. They grew up listing to all that great stuff that came out of America at the time. Take some one like you own Johnny Halliday. Wouldn’t you say he’s very influenced by American Music?
What do you find & love in the US that you don’t find in Denmark ?
People here in Denmark especially, can’t seem to understand that a Dane or European for that matter, can write and sing in the style that I do, without it being a Bob Dylan rip of. People in America couldn’t care less. If the music is good they like it. That’s what I love about America.
What do you find and love in Denmark that you don’t find in the USA ?
I live in Copenhagen and it’s my home. Most people like their home. So do I.
As an european singing traditional american music, is it difficult to exist as an artist in the USA, is there prejudice against you ?
All I can tell you is, I’ve never had that in the US. Never. Being prejudice towards something is a European thing, not American.
What are your relations with music business ?
I don’t really have any relations with the music business. I make my own records and I’m not affiliated with any label. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to. I would. But I just haven’t met the right people to work with yet. As far as money and music goes, it’s easily managed when the only one you have to look after is yourself.
http://www.myspace.com/emilfriis
an interview with Roma di Luna
septembre 14th, 2008
Roma di Luna is a Folk/Country band from Minneapolis, lead by Alexei & Channy Moon Casselle.
Their wonderful last album "Casting the Bones" is of course on rotation on KOKOMO WebRadio.
http://www.romadiluna.com/
http://www.myspace.com/romadiluna
How could you discribe your music to somebody who never heard the music of Roma di Luna ?
A: I would say its like the Carter Family meets Cat Power. Appalachian style folk with a modern twist.
What your songs are talking about generally ? Where do you find your inspiration ? nature, travel, love stories, books … ?
C: Songwriting for me is rambles of my own memories or unsettled stories of my past mixed with the stories I see in the streets and newspapers around me and the books and poems I’ve read that stay with me. I also credit Alexei with inspiring me to write; The creative energy that lives in our relationship when new songs are being written and sung helps us feed off of each other.
What do each of you two bring to Roma di Luna ?
C: We each bring our different instruments of choice, the music we listened to as children, our different writing styles and voices and even the masculine versus the feminine perspective.
What’s your story with music ? How, when did you begin singing, playing music are you both from a musician familly ?
A: My father is a painter, a singer, a songwriter, a producer and plays multiple instruments but he was not around for a lot of my childhood. My mother is not a musician but is an artist in her own right. I started writing lyrics when I was fifteen because I wanted to be a rap artist. I stuck with that and continue to write and perform hip hop music today. I wasn’t interested in rock or folk music until about five years ago when I listened to Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan. Dylan opened up another world of possibilty and became a gateway to many other artists and perspectives for me. Channy’s father used to be a songwriter and is still a hell of a ragtime piano player.
Choose one of these two songs and tells us it’s story : « silver dagger » or « these tears ain’t mine »
A: "Silver Dagger" is a traditional folk song that I first heard from an old Joan Baez record. I took to it instantly as it has all the lore and tragedy of old Irish and English ballads. It’s a story told by a young woman who is being courted by some guy, but she’s telling him not to pursue her because her mom keeps a silver dagger under her pillow for just the right ocassion. She also talks about how her father was also a bit of a Casanova in his day, and maybe that’s also why mom keeps the knife. I love these old tales because they are very simple and archaic but I think you can read into them and find all sorts of symbols and metaphors. I think they’re also very telling of age old truths like men being unfaithful to their partners and over-protectiver parents…
Is there a song you wish you had written ?
A: Yes, there are way too many songs I wish I had written.
What do you listen to ?
C: Alexei and I both listen to a wide range of genres and generations of music. Some of our favorites are Elmore James, Robert Johnson and other blues greats of that generation; the Carter Family and Bob Dylan are staples in our home; Gil Scott-Heron and modern groups like the Roots are musicians that inspre us by the truth they speak and their fearlessness to attack America’s racism and other injustices.
Who are Channy Moon’s prefered femal singers ?
There are so many… In general, I gravitate towards the tragic and emotive voices like: Billie Holiday, Texas Gladden, Amel Larieux, Esme Redsepova and other Roma singers out of the Balkans. I like a voice tha brings me to tears.
Since 2 or 3 years there is a revival of American folk music in Europe, is it the same in the U.S ?
A:Yes, there has definitely been a folk/old-timey revival of sorts going on locally and also on a national level, I believe. I think part of it is just some people following a trend since everything goes in cycles, so if enough people get into a style or genre that hasn’t been getting much attention then others will follow, but at the heart of this resurgance is the music itself and love and respect for the people that created it.
For all of us who live far from Minnesota, can you tell us more about Minneapolis ?
A: Minneapolis is a wonderful city. It is very eclectic in its population as well as in its culture and arts. Most people just talk about the winters if they are not used to harsh weather, but we have the joy of every season here. I think Fall is my favorite because there are so many trees that when all the leaves turn colors it is the most spectaclur sight. We have one of the best music scenes in the country; A lot of amazing bands and talented artists that network and collaborate on a grassroots level. There’s great food. I like that it is a major metropolitan city but there are still many small city characteristics about it. I can ride a bike for ten minutes from my mom’s house and be in the woods in one direction, or be in down town the other direction. I was born and raised here and I can see spending most of my life here, although I love to travel and hope to see a lot more of the world in the coming years.
USA is currently living a very interesting period with the next presidential election. What do you think about that ? do you have expectations ?
A: I think it is a very exciting time in our history as the first black man was just nominated to be the Democratic presidential nominee. I am a big fan of Barack Obama. Channy is, too. I think the Repulican ticket is a joke, but unfortunately many people would disagree with me and seem to have forgotten or worse, some how enjoyed the last eight years of George W. Bush and company in the White House. I though that it would be almost unanimous that people would rally behind Obama on the left but there is till a lot of division. The Republican National Convention is taking place in Saint Paul as I write this (the other half of the Twin Cities) and a lot of people on the Left are grouping Obama in with ‘just another politician who talks big but won’t follow through.’ This is disheartening to me because people either aren’t going to vote or they will vote for a third party which is how Bush won the last two elections. I don’t pretend to understand my country and am continuously confounded and frustrated by it but I do love it so I cannot just hold my tongue or leave it to the dogs.
C: I could talk about American politics until I was blue in the face. It infuriates me that Americans might vote Republican after these last 8 years!