Posts Tagged ‘ folk ’

Bridget St. John: October 21, 2016 Schoolhouse

February 9, 2017
By

It was a rare treat when Avant Ghetto Presents brought the British folk legend Bridget St. John to Brooklyn, regaling a crowd of dedicated onlookers with tales from the center of the folk revolution and a compliment of her and others’ finest work. In today’s America, St. John may not be quite the household name of some of her best-known British folk peers, having largely withdrawn from the music scene after her fourth album, 1974’s Jumble Queen. But, for real aficionados of the modern folk tradition — this show’s sponsor among them — St. John is a leading figure.

This crowd, at the Schoolhouse in Brooklyn, treated St. John with the reverence she deserved. The space may not have been an actual Greenwich Village club circa 1970, of course, but the space and vibe felt like its obvious heir, a group of people bound by something more than inhabiting the same room, searching for the same enlightenment. As St. John covered songs from musical fellow-travelers of hers like John Martyn and Michael Chapman — with both of whom she has recorded — she transported us to a time that birthed a generation, one that feels increasingly distant. As she introduced “Just Like A Woman,” she said “it’s taken me a long time to find my space” in the work, but now, she has. The choice felt especially significant, pre-election, at a time when the role of women has been so much-discussed. Listening to it again now, its resonance is changed, perhaps more powerful.

Of her major period albums, St. John focused especially on her first and third, 1969’s Ask Me No Questions and 1972’s Thank You For in the setlist, but we also heard several numbers, like “Castaway,” “Mon Gala Papillons,” and “The Hole In Your Heart” that she recorded in connection with a tour of Japan in 2010. Seven years after that, and the re-release of her first three albums, we hope that St. John’s contributions will continue to receive the greater attention they deserve.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed together with Schoeps MK4V microphones at the stage lip. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Thanks to Jeff Conklin of Avant Ghetto Presents for sponsoring and inviting us to the show. Check out Jeff’s WFMU radio show here.

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Bridget St. John
2016-10-21
Schoolhouse
Brooklyn, NY USA

Hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard + Schoeps MK4V (onstage)>KCY>Z-PFA>>Zoom F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (fades, align, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ,
effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Castaway
02 [banter1]
03 Back to Stay [John Martyn]
04 Lizard-Long-Tongue-Boy
05 Nice
06 [banter2]
07 Just Like A Woman [Dylan]
08 [banter3]
09 Mon Gala Papillons
10 Hole In Your Heart
11 [banter4]
12 Rabbit Hills [Michael Chapman]
13 [banter5]
14 Fly High
15 [banter6]
16 Lazarus [traditional]
17 [banter7]
18 Ask Me No Questions

If you enjoyed this recording, please support Bridget St. John: Twitter | Buy Her Records

Al Riggs: September 9, 2016 Hopscotch Music Festival, Deep South (Raleigh, NC)

September 28, 2016
By

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[Screen capture from this video]


As happens more and more frequently these days in North Carolina, Al Riggs dedicated one of his songs — “Carolina Peacemaker” — to the state’s governor Pat McCrory, whose brazenly incompetent and offensive campaign against LGBTQ people has lost the state several major concerts, the NCAA tournament, a major PayPal facility, and the NBA All-Star Game, among other things. As he detailed in an interview this summer, Riggs, who is gay, didn’t set out to make his music political, at least not about that topic. But he, like many of his fellow citizens, has found that if you live under this regime, you no longer have a choice.

If you leave out the political stuff, the most notable detail about Riggs is the volume of his output, made mostly by himself, mostly using his iPhone or laptop. His work (he was heading up to record a new album the following week in New York) finds its moment when he decides, rather than the practicalities of a “release schedule” or studio time or the various other trappings of most musicians’ lives. As a result, he’s able and willing to share his ideas at a furious pace, about whatever topic suits him — from state politics to the (very) unfortunately (since re-)  named Durham restaurant “Hattie Mae Williams Called Me Captain.”

Being a festival-length set, this Hopscotch Music Festival performance at Deep South the Bar could hardly do justice to Riggs’ entire body of work, but it gave those of us who hadn’t seen him live a flavor of what he’s capable of. Riggs, with a sing-speak delivery that purposefully doesn’t obscure his words, lives in both the rock and folk worlds, able to deliver a forceful choogler like “Afraid of Heaven” with the same degree of skill he brings to more subtle tunes like “All The Cells” — a song, he said, “for every queer kid’s parents who are trying to figure out what to do next.” Even if this set was billed simply as “Al Riggs,” one has to give  credit to his band, the Inconveniences,” who appear on his most recent album (though it’s hard to keep up) Night Freedom. While Riggs has been successful at recording on his own, there’s no denying the additional power of the live act, and his music and this modest-but-accommodating venue were a natural fit. It’s not really worth leaving New York to see the bands that play here all the time (which is most of them). It’s the shows like this, by the local gems that you’d hate to miss, that make the trip.

I recorded this set with a relatively modest setup, Audio Technica AT 853 cardiod microphones mounted in the center of the room. While there are some occasional spots of crowd noise here and there, the sound quality of this recording is overall quite strong. Enjoy!

Stream and download this show on our bandcamp page

Al Riggs
2016-09-09
Hopscotch Music Festival
Deep South
Raleigh, NC USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Audio Technica 853c (2’ split, DFC)>CA-UBB>Sony PCM-10>24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (compression, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Don’t Smoke In Bed
02 [banter]
03 Young Hegelians
04 Afraid of Heaven
05 Reagan Slain By Hero Cop
06 All The Cells
07 [banter2]
08 Carolina Peacemaker
09 [banter3]
10 Tunnel of Gore
11 [banter4]
12 Hungry Months

PLEASE SUPPORT AL RIGGS: bandcampFacebook

Michael Chapman: October 9, 2015 Tompkins Square 10th Anniversary (Rough Trade NYC)

November 3, 2015
By

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[photos by Jill Harrison]

The English folk artist Michael Chapman is a true survivor (as one of his album titles suggests), with a 30+ album catalog spanning six decades. From Rainmaker, his 1969 debut, to today, Chapman has explored both more traditional folk and rock music as well as contemporary and jazz guitar, bringing his unique, emotional style of playing to each. Reissue labels like Seattle’s Light in the Attic are furiously re-releasing Chapman’s early catalog, giving fans access to a body of work that belongs in the hands of any devotee of his styles. Chapman’s most recent release of new music, Fish, came out on the Tompkins Square label, and the 74-year old singer captivated the audience for the label’s 10th anniversary show at Rough Trade NYC.

Even with such a massive catalog, this set still managed to feature material that’s only seen the light of day on the live circuit, such as the opener “Two Trains.” There was the song “Fahey’s Flag,” too, a tribute to the American guitar great, who of course Chapman knew personally. That followed with a new vocal track that remains as-yet untitled, followed by another very special treat — “Another Story,” which appears on the forthcoming Parallelogram box set by Three Lobed Recordings (sharing an LP with Hiss Golden Messenger, I might add). Chapman closed with 2000’s “Shuffleboat River Farewell,” followed by the Spanish-inspired tune “La Madrugada,” which first appeared on 2002’s Americana II. The whole of this performance was deeply affecting, notable both for its breadth and intensity. Chapman’s not just a fully qualified survivor, but an innovator at his art.

I recorded this set with Dustin Myer’s soundboard feed combined with Schoeps MK4V microphones. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete set (minus banter tracks):

Michael Chapman
2015-10-09
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Dustin Myers) + Schoeps MK4V (PAS, FOB)>KC5>CMC6>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compression, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, imaging, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Two Trains
02 [banter1]
03 Caddo Lake
04 [banter2]
05 Fahey’s Flag
06 [unknown]
07 [banter3]
08 Another Story
09 Shuffleboat River Farewell
10 [banter4]
11 La Madrugada

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE visit Michael Chapman’s website, buy Fish from Tompkins Square, and buy his other releases here.

Bob Brown: October 9, 2015 Tompkins Square 10th Anniversary, Rough Trade NYC

November 2, 2015
By

bob brown-2
[photos by Jill Harrison]

To kick off Tompkins Square’s tenth anniversary celebration at Rough Trade NYC, we were treated to a very special performance by Bob Brown, performing for the first time in 33 years. A longtime friend of Richie Havens, who produced Brown’s first LP, The Wall I Built Myself, Brown is what you might call a cult folk singer of astonishing quality. The “cult” part has more to do with that old bugbear, record labels, than the quality of his work. Brown has shared the stage with a number of noted musicians, including Tim Harden, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Eric Anderson, and Havens. Though identified primarily with the D.C. scene, Brown recorded his debut here in New York, crashing at the time at the Chelsea Hotel. His label, Havens’ Stormy Forest, got lost in the shuffle of big-label mergers, making further releases a challenge. As is so often the case, but not always deservedly so, Brown eventually retired from music, and his albums went out of print.

Doing what these boutique labels do best, Tompkins Square will be reissuing both The Wall I Built Myself and Willoughby’s Lament next year, finally bringing these masterpieces back to life. But for those lucky ones of us who attended this event, we got the even-rarer treat of seeing this music back on stage. Had he not said the moment was 33 years in the making, you wouldn’t have known it, as Brown capably and beautifully rendered five of his songs, spanning several of his key albums. Helping the cause was Ryley Walker’s crack jazz unit (who would return later in the evening with him), and even with only one rehearsal behind them, they captured the spirit of Brown’s work like the pros they are. Brown’s songs are pastoral, delicate affairs, often with a directness that makes them feel like missives to someone from Brown’s past. Even 45 years after it was written, a song like “Winds of Change” resonates even from its opening line, but each of the five songs played was special. You can hear the first three of the ones from these night on the two reissued albums; “Like A Fawn” is still in print, as is “Perfect Song” from Brown’s collaboration with Aleta GreeneLet Me Be Your Love. What a gift Tompkins Square will give us by letting us hear these original recordings again. We can only hope that Brown follows suit and pays us some future visits.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from engineer Dustin Meyers together with Schoeps MK4V microphones. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show: 

Bob Brown
2015-10-09
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Dustin Myers) + Schoeps MK4V (PAS, FOB)>KC5>CMC6>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compression, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, imaging, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 It Takes the World to Make a Feather Fall
02 Winds of Change
03 Quiet Waterfall
04 Like A Fawn
05 Perfect Song

If you enjoyed this recording, please learn more about Bob Brown on his website, and visit Tompkins Square in 2016 to buy his records.

Jake Xerxes Fussell: September 10, 2015 Hopscotch Music Festival (Raleigh, NC)

October 28, 2015
By

hopscotch-festival-2015-15-kennethbachor
[photos courtesy of Kenneth Bachor for BrooklynVegan]

Jake Xerxes Fussell occupies a slightly different niche among his contemporary folk counterparts. Rather than reinterpreting old traditions into new sounds,  Fussell is more of an archivist and explorer, one who gives listeners a window into the original experience of the tunes being played. The Durham, NC-based singer appeared on the very Durham-friendly bill on the first night of Hopscotch Music Festival at the Fletcher Opera Theater, one slot before Phil Cook took the stage (that recording here). Fussell isn’t some latecomer or dilettante to the Southern material that’s on his mind; much like Alan Lomax followed in the footsteps of his father John, Fussell grew up with Fred C. Fussell, a folklorist whose work took him, and often young Jake, across the South, bringing them into contact with many traditional musicians in the process.

Paradise of Bachelors just releases Fussell’s debut record this year, produced by William Tyler, and as you’d expect, this set paid some attention to it. But there was more than that, too, owing to Fussell’s encyclopedic knowledge of the pool from which he draws, which one album can hardly contain. So we got versions of “Man At the Mill” and “Push Boat” from the album, we we also heard some classic Pete Seeger, in the form of “The Bells of Rhymney” and Virginian folk singer Helen Cockram’s “Pinnacle Mountain Silver Mine.” Fussell didn’t need much in the way of flash to get his point across, as he sat along on the broad semicircular stage in front of Cook’s ample stage set. It felt more like a fireside sing-a-long, as given by the kind of music professor you always wished you could’ve had.

Our friend Larry Tucker recorded this set with a soundboard feed together with Peluso subcardiod microphones. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete set: 

Jake Xerxes Fussell
2015-09-10
Hopscotch Music Festival
Fletcher Opera Theater
Raleigh, NC USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by Larry Tucker
Produced by acidjack

Soundboard>PCM-M10 + Peluso CEMC6-CK21 (subcardiod) (Room center hung from balcony rail)>Fostex FR2-LE>24bit/48kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 If I Lose Let Me Loose [John Lee Ziegler] (cuts in)
02 The Bells of Rhymney [Pete Seeger]
03 Pinnacle Mountain Silver Mine [Helen Cockram]
04 Man At the Mill [traditional]
05 Push Boat [traditional]
06 Jump For Joy [Duke Ellington]
07 Raggy Levy [Georgia Sea Island Singers]
08 Copper Kettle [Albert Frank Beddoe]
09 Pork and Beans [Rosa Lee Hill]

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Jake Xerxes Fussell, like him on Facebook, and buy his debut album from Paradise of Bachelors.

Jennifer Castle: October 4, 2015 Webster Hall

October 20, 2015
By

jennifer-castle-12
[photos courtesy of P Squared Photography]

It’s never an easy task to be a singer-songwriter opening for an eight-piece band in a 1500-capacity venue, but Jennifer Castle pulled off that feat, opening for Destroyer, in a way that let her material shine. I was surprised to discover that we hadn’t checked in with her since a Union Pool show in 2012, which came before the release of her widely-acclaimed 2014 album, Pink City. So, this was our first time getting to engage with much of that material, and I’m glad we had the chance. Accompanied by guitars and keys, but no percussion, Castle spared little time between songs, packing in as much as she could into the thirty-minute slot. What came across, in the big space of Webster Hall, was how strong her voice is, as able to fill this space as the coffee shops and smaller clubs where this music is typically more comfortable. She began with a newer song, “I Don’t Care About Money,” followed by “Powers” from her 2012 album Castlemusic, possibly the strongest track on that offering. From there, the Pink City material began in rapid-fire fashion, beginning with “Working For the Man.” The diaphanous-but-tensile quality of Castle’s voice is especially evident on this song, and the impressive vocal turns continued for many of the new songs. Not that Castle’s a stranger to challenging work — she’s played with everyone from fellow Canadian folkie Doug Paisley to the somewhat more aggro Toronto crews Fucked Up and The Constantines. Even if this setting might not have been the perfect way to be introduced to Jennifer Castle in terms of size, I suspect she earned a lot of new fans here. She continues with Destroyer on the West Coast before heading to Europe with them in November. Make sure to show up early to catch her set.

As with the Destroyer set, I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from the Webster Hall engineer Raphael, with a bit of Schoeps MK41V microphones to add ambiance. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete set: 

Jennifer Castle
2015-10-04
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Thanks to Jennifer Castle for permission

Soundboard (engineers: Raphael) + Schoeps MK41V (at SBD, DFC)>KCY>Z-PFA>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (fades, align, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, compression)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 29:34]
01 I Don’t Care About Money
02 Powers
03 Working For the Man
04 Truth Is the Freshest Fruit
05 How Or Why
06 Sailor’s Blessing
07 Sailing Away
08 Pink City

Band
Jennifer Castle – Vocals, guitar
Mike Smith – Bass
Ryan Driver – Keyboards

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Jennifer Castle, like her on facebook, and buy Pink City from No Quarter Records.

Ryley Walker: October 9, 2015 Rough Trade NYC (Tompkins Square 10th Anniversary)

October 16, 2015
By

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[photos by Jill Harrison]

For the past decade, Tompkins Square Records has pursued the dual missions of enlightening listeners about the current state of folk and guitar music, as well as unearthing underappreciated classics, such as John Hulburt’s Opus III, compilations of gospel songs, and Harry Taussig’s Fate Is Only Once. But on the first side of that slate — current artists — is where Tompkins Square has stood out the most, offering up records by Daniel Bachman, Shawn David McMillen, and last year’s Grammy-nominated set of music from respected folk singer Alice Gerrard. The biggest single breakout, though, might be Ryley Walker, of Chicago, whose debut album the label released back in 2014. From there, things moved fast, with Walker blowing our minds at a full-band appearance at Hopscotch, releasing his second album, Primrose Green, in 2015 (and a live album with Bill MacKay in August), and ending up on the roster of, among others, the Pitchfork Music Festival, Levitation, and Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival. As followers of this site know, we’ve seen him a slew of times since that Hopscotch show, each revealing new songs and new dimensions of his style.

Fitting, then, that Ryley and his band would headline Tompkins Square’s tenth-anniversary celebration, at the top of a bill that also featured living legend Michael Chapman and the rediscovered D.C. folk musician Bob Brown, playing his first show in 30 years. Ryley said at the outset that he and his band didn’t deserve to be headlining over such company, and even if that wasn’t necessarily true, they certainly were the young guns among their peers. What followed that introduction was a sprawling, hour-plus set consisting of just four songs, all of them non-album material, two of them brand new to us. The band began with “The Roundabout,” a fitting metaphor for a song about possibilities that can just as easily turn into inertia. After that came the night’s sprawling centerpiece, “Sullen Mind,” which we first heard at Le Poisson Rouge back in June. This time, the song became a 25-minute showcase for the band and Ryley’s talents, the natural interplay among them obvious they grinned visibly at the transitions. “Funny Thing She Said” continued in that vein, giving sax man Levon Henry a showcase for his talents before Ryley even got to the first verse. This and “Sullen Mind” underscore how far Walker has come since even that 2014 Hopscotch performance; if one were inclined to accuse him of being a “traditional” folk musician, or some kind of tribute act for Van Morrison and the classics, his recent performances throw those assumptions out the window. What Walker is attempting here is something entirely different, and something that’s a total stranger to the Civil War-wave garbage that passes for modern folk or “indie” music on most stages these days. That he has already attempted it on the biggest stages, such as at Pitchfork, further proves that Walker isn’t taking the easy, commercial way here. More power to him.

After begging from the audience, the band closed with an even-newer tune, “The Great and Undecided,” a slightly more traditional number (so far) that we’re excited to hear develop. As Ryley enlightened us at the outset of this show, Tompkins Square has been delivering “sick nugs” for ten years now. I feel confident saying Ryley Walker will keep doing the same. He represents the best of the future, as well as the past.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from engineer Dustin Meyers together with Schoeps MK4V microphones. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC] | [Apple Lossless]

Stream the complete show (note: banter tracks removed. Enjoy them on the download versions):

Ryley Walker
2015-10-09
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Dustin Myers) + Schoeps MK4V (PAS, FOB)>KC5>CMC6>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compression, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, imaging, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:05:05]
01 [intro banter]
02 The Roundabout
03 Sullen Mind
04 [tuning]
05 Funny Thing She Said
06 [encore break]
07 The Great and Undecided

Band:
Ryley Walker
Ben Boye – Keys
Brian Sulpizio – Guitar
Anton Hatwich – Bass
Ryan Jewell – Drums
Levon Henry – Sax

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Ryley Walker, like him on Facebook, and buy All Kinds of You and The West Wind EP on Tompkins Square and Primrose Green from Dead Oceans. Also, check out Ryley’s new acoustic live album with Bill MacKay, which you can stream and buy here.

20151010-RyleyWalker-4

Elephant Micah: July 16, 2015 The Living Room – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

July 22, 2015
By

elephantmicah

Elephant Micah, aka Joseph O’Connell, is one of several welcome transplants to the North Carolina music scene over the past few years. The formerly Indiana-based songwriter has flourished of late, releasing his well-received Where In Our Woods in 2015. While O’Connell has put out a slew of material over his 14-year career, many of those offerings (save Woods and 2012’s Louder Than Thou, in particular) have been of the more DIY variety, meaning many listeners still aren’t as acquainted with him as they should be. So here’s some quick catch-up: O’Connell released a 7-inch with Hiss Golden Messenger in 2012, and spent some time touring with Magnolia Electric Co. before that. Those artists should be an indication of his quality; he belongs in that company. His songwriting brings to bear a formidable understanding of American folkloric tradition and the chops to translate it to modern ears, while his voice reminds me a bit of Richard Buckner in its tone and emotional reach. These features suited this particular performance especially well.

The Living Room moved from the Lower East Side to Williamsburg recently, and this well-appointed, professionally-run venue suits the 2015 version of this neighborhood. With the move came a bold expansion of the space that, critically, did not diminish its original purpose. There’s now a large roof deck with DJs, and a well-appointed front bar, but there remains a dedicated, quiet, great-sounding music space in the back. It was here that Elephant Micah (as a full band) laid down a set that was, in his own words, reflective of “doing a lot of podcasts.” In his mind, that seems to have meant a darker tone, as the band played just one solitary Where In Our Woods song (“Albino Animals”) amidst a fascinating set of older material and traditional folk. The traditional numbers won the day here, particularly the scorching “The Ballad of the Lawson Family,” whose mournful lyrics gave way to a crescendo of electric noise. This was every bit a freeform set, off-the-cuff and true to the traditions that O’Connell does proud. If you haven’t experienced O’Connell’s fine work yet, start with Where In Our Woods, then work back to the recorded roots of these songs. You can see where this artist has been, and how he has grown. Then listen to this set again, and realize the beauty of him putting it all together. If you haven’t been, start paying attention.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from the Living Room FOH Kevin, together with Schoeps MK41V microphones. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete set: 

Elephant Micah
2015-07-16
Living Room
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Kevin) + Schoeps MK41V>KC5>CMC6>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compress SBD)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Hidden River Run
02 Albino Animals
03 [banter1]
04 Another Fire
05 Still Life Blues
06 [banter2]
07 The Ballad of the Lawson Family [traditional]
08 [banter3]
09 Pearl Bryan [traditional]

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Elephant Micah, visit his website, and buy his records from his bandcamp page.

Ryley Walker: June 26, 2015 Le Poisson Rouge

June 30, 2015
By

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[photos by P Squared Photography]

Ryley Walker has been a can’t-miss for me on every single tour that has taken him through New York this year, the latest being this date at Le Poisson Rouge with Jessica Pratt. What is so remarkable about the five performances we have covered since September of last year is that every single one has been different, including the cast of performers. While Ryley’s a redoubtable solo artist, where he truly shines is in his ensemble, consisting of Chicago-based jazz artists who’ve played with Ryley on and off for years. On this night, he not only had the full compliment of  his “regular” players, with Ryan Jewell on drums, Ben Boye on keys, Brian Sulpizio on electric guitar, and Anton Hatwich on bass, but also a horn section consisting of Levon Henry on sax and Jamie Branch on trumpet. The results were simply magical; over 41 minutes, Ryley and the players turned these three songs into long-form jazz meditations. If Ryley’s albums fall firmly enough into the “folk” camp, his live show is a completely different beast, something that lives as close musically to the Grateful Dead and free jazz as to Van Morrison or Bob Dylan.

The brand-new song “Sullen Mind,” lyrically, is a hangover tune, a drunk’s lament, and Ryley summons the narrator’s loneliness and pain with relatively few lyrics, delivered at times with a slur that leaps to a howl. The ensemble follows with urgency, their collective sound growing insistent and dark, almost an analog for the troubled mind of the story. Seated just a few feet from Ryley, it was chill-inducing to watch and hear the song unfold, as the players barely needed a nod from their leader to storm forward from the last chorus into a climactic outro. The brass didn’t show up until the new track “Funny Thing She Said,” but that song made an immediate impact on a song that made a perfect bookend to “Sullen Mind,” both of them chill-inducing laments. And lest the lone album track played — “Primrose Green” — get short shrift, it, too, soared on the one-two punch of Brian Sulpizio and Walker on guitars, a poppy-field tripper of a track that makes you want to find some of the substance name-dropped in the title. As Ryley and his band headed off to Solid Sound Festival, more touring upstate and elsewhere, and finally back home to Chicago for the Pitchfork Music Festival, they are firing on all cylinders, a live unit at or near the peak of their powers. At this point, in festival-land, they’re still playing early — don’t miss them.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from the Le Poisson Rouge team, combined with Schoeps MK41V supercardiod microphones clamped to the soundboard booth and a split pair of DPA 4061 omnidirectional microphones on the stage. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete set from the Live Music Archive: [FLAC] | [MP3] + [Apple Lossless


Ryley Walker
2015-06-26
Le Poisson Rouge
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard + Schoeps MK41V (at SBD, PAS)>KC5>CMC6>> Roland R-26 + DPA 4061 (onstage, split 2ft)>CA-UBB>Sony PCM-M10>>3x24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (limiter, EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 41:43]
01 Sullen Mind
02 Primrose Green
03 [banter]
04 Funny Thing She Said

Band:
Ryley Walker – Vocals, guitar
Ryan Jewell – Drums
Ben Boye – Keys
Brian Sulpizio – Electric guitar
Anton Hatwich – Bass
Levon Henry – Sax
Jamie Branch – Trumpet

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Ryley Walker, like him on Facebook, and buy Primrose Green from Dead Oceans.

ryley-walker-2

Daniel Bachman: May 24, 2015 Union Pool – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

June 16, 2015
By

Daniel Bachman

So far, 2015 has been a banner year for solo guitar records, with new releases from Daniel Bachman and Tashi Dorji plus the upcoming new Chuck Johnson record—just to name a few that I’m excited about. With the recently-released River, Daniel Bachman has somehow managed to out-do last year’s incredible Orange Co. SerenadeIt’s no accident the North Carolina transplant has released those two records on a couple of the state’s most prestigious labels—River on Three Lobed and Orange Co. Serenade on Bathetic. (And indeed no accident that Chuck Johnson’s Crows in the Basilica came out on Three Lobed and Tashi Dorji’s Appa came out on Bathetic, to further the connection to like-minded guitarists and labels.)

Bachman headlined an incredible bill of solo folk guitarists at Union Pool a few weeks back—the show, organized by Jeff Conklin/Avant Ghetto, also featured North Carolina songstress Sarah Louise, L.A.’s Itasca (Kayla Cohen), and Belgium’s Ignatz (Bram Devens). Bachman’s set treats us to songs off both River and Orange Co. Serenade, including two covers: “Levee” by Jack Rose and “Old Country Rock” by William Moore, giving us a good idea of who he sees as his forebears. Bachman may be young among the crowd of solo guitarists, but already can be counted among the genre’s greats. I have no doubt we’ll be seeing more great things from him.

I recorded this set with the AKGs clamped to the balcony and a board feed from Union Pool FOH, Kevin. There’s a little bit of ambient noise from the crowd and bar here—including one very exuberant fan—but Bachman’s guitar is loud and crystal clear. Enjoy!

Thanks to Jeff for organizing the event and inviting us down to record it. Avant Ghetto will presenting another show full of guitar worship at Union Pool on August 2 with PG Six, Chuck Johnson, Alan Licht, and Anthony Pasquarosa.

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.

Daniel Bachman
2015-05-24
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Kevin) + AKG C480B/CK63 (FOB, LOC, PAS) > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, balance, compression, mixdown) > Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ) > Audacity 2.0.5 (amplify, fades, downsample, dither, tracking, tagging) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

Tracks [45:34]
01. Won’t You Cross Over to That Other Shore
02. Levee [Jack Rose]
03. Sarah Anne
04. Orange Co. Serenade
05. Old Country Rock [William Moore]
06. Song For the Setting Sun II
07. Coming Home

Support Daniel Bachman: Website | Facebook | Buy River from Three Lobed | Buy Orange Co. Serenade from Bathetic

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