I’ve written several pieces on what is often described as an ongoing revival of American traditional music (listed below with links). A piece on NPR today and in the N.Y. Times earlier this week on Southern California’s Frank Fairfield brought the subject back to mind. While you (or I) may argue with the assertion that [...]
Taking the ngoni into new musical territory
Working on a couple of posts but still too busy to put much time into it. In the meantime, here’s a repost of a Jon Pareles piece (N.Y. Times) on how Bassekou Kouyati has revolutionized the use of the ngnoi but first here’s a YouTube video of Kouyati with another “revolutionary” who has taken the [...]
Tanya Tagaq — Crossing Genres & “Living Outside the Box”
Few artists cross genre boundaries as freely and seemingly effortlessly as Tanya Tagaq. Labeling what she does as Inuit throat singing inadequately describes what she does. Never easy listening, Tanya takes the listener “outside the box” of her or his expectations. In an interview in January 2010, Tanya discussed her work and her hope that [...]
Cultural Exchange vs. Cultural Tourism (@Community Arts Network)
Interesting essay by James Bau Graves, director of the Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago) on the slippery distinction between cultural exchange and cultural tourism. Cultural Exchange vs. Cultural Tourism “Cultural exchange” is often cited as one of the few tools for dismantling tensions with other countries that doesn’t involve force or coercion. The [...]
CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS DROP NEW ALBUM: “GENUINE NEGRO JIG”
Northern Roots singer Tim Eriksen turned me on to this trio of North Carolina musicians who are rediscovering (continuing?) the African American string band tradition. Part of what Eriksen labels the revival of Hardcore Americana. Check out the recent stories on NPR: Carolina Chocolate Drops A Brand-New Album
It’s only rock ‘n’ roll
Desert Rock — Tinariwen brings rebel music out of the Southern Sahara By Jeffrey Callen A slow Hendrix blues riff, deep, rough and insistent, slashes through the aural space. Broken down and repeated, the opening riff is joined by the offbeat upstrokes of a second, trebly electric guitar establishing a shuffle counterpoint. A fast rap [...]
This week’s genre transgressions (Swedish hillbilly/swing) (Canadian Arab pop/pscyhedelic/jazz/protest music) (European classical spa music) (Polish avant garde)
Swedish Hillbilly/Western Swing with some bluegrass tossed in? Bring it on! Fiddler Ralf Fredblad and company must have spent many a dark frigid Nordic night listening to the heart and soul of Appalachia. The Original Rockridge Brothers bang out some of the most authentic Hillbilly you’ll hear, without irony or any suspicious modern trappings. “Rockridge [...]
Finding a Voice (Interview of Tim Eriksen)
Earlier I posted a quote from my December 2009 interview of singer Tim Eriksen on Transgressions. That selection described his strategic definition of the Anglo-American repertoire he performs as a solo artist as “Northern Roots” (he also performed with punk rock band Cordelia’s Dad and Bosnian pop band Zabe i Babe). Eriksen’s passion (and meal [...]
“Northern Roots,” “Americana,” “Traditional Music” — The Strategic Nature of Genre Definition
Recently I interviewed singer Tim Eriksen and among the subjects we touched upon was his creation of the genre label “Northern Roots” for the mix of traditional Angl0-American music he performs (he also works in other genres, including punk, jazz and Bosnian pop). The quote below highlights the strategic considerations of genre definition for musicians, particularly [...]
"Postmodern Traditional Music"
Postmodern Traditional Music How Tim Eriksen became perhaps the only musician to play with both Kurt Cobain and Doc Watson. By Jeffrey Callen Without doubt, Tim Eriksen is one of the most original American singers working today. Once you hear his voice, it is impossible to forget; its richness and intensity seem hauntingly appropriate whether he [...]
