All tagged Interview
Nathan Mongol Wells, Dallas-based musician and frontman of Ottoman Turks, isn’t just dipping his toe into the new world of solo artistry, he’s cannonballing right into the deep end. He just released his debut album, From a Dark Corner, an album best described as “eclectic,” but not in the sense that the album seems jumbled, only that Wells is a lover of many different genres and infuses them all within this album.
If you haven’t heard the term Nordicana, make sure you get familiar with it, as there’s a whole offshoot of the Americana genre that’s represented by a host of talented, Scandinavian artists. Today we’re talking with one of those artists, Malin Pettersen, who wowed us with her last album, Wildhorse. Although in the past Pettersen’s music drew from her influences in bluegrass and country, Malin’s newest music is embracing the genres of jazz and R&B, while “redefining the boundaries of pop music.” Whatever direction Malin plans on going, the world would be smart to follow, as she’s a talented and ever evolving artist. Malin Pettersen is back with new music and she just released her new single, “Cry If I Want To”, a duet with Bergljot Bejella. Her video for the single debuted on June 14th and if you haven’t had the chance to watch it yet, you can find it below.
Nashville based roots duo, Golden Shoals, made up of Amy Alvey and Mark Kiliansk, have been making music together for a decade. During that time, they’ve weathered a pandemic, made the choice to change their name to Golden Shoals, and continue to write songs that address the issues that those of us are facing every day, whether it be inflation, climate change, the current political climate in America, or trying to keep your head above water in this crazy world we live in. In November they released two singles, “Ain’t No New Orleans” and “Treading Water”. Although a new album has yet to be announced, these two singles are a step in that direction. Please enjoy the interview we did with Golden Shoals about their current singles and what they have coming up in the new year.
Writers, authors and artists come in a million varieties. Some are born with a desire to document, some are forced through reflection of circumstance, some are young and naive who try to paint the world before they’ve seen it. Michael Graber has lived a life, I’m sure he’d tell you, and you can listen to Late Bloom and he will, but that’s the beauty of an album like Late Bloom. You don’t have to wade through pretense of someone getting philosophical about made up problems, telling grand stories of a life not lived. “Late Bloom” which was released on 10/30/20 is full of stories about a life lived, problems solved, problems that have failed to be solved, dreams that made it, dreams that may still make it and dreams that didn’t. I had the chance to talk to Michael about the record, a little about life, and after having the chance to ask some questions, I feel a little more connected to a record that I found striking. As a child of deep rural Appalachia, I have a pull to traditional folk and Bluegrass. If you have a love of jam band music or ‘grass,this is for you.
If you find yourself asking, "Who or what is W.B. Walker?" I’m about to bring a world of joy, creativity, and intention to your attention. What started as a way to show friends and family what one smooth, southern, baritone-voiced, pirate radio DJ was listening to, blossomed into a way for artists to break into a brand new stratosphere. Being on the “Old Soul Radio Show” has become a stop on the way to stardom in the lives of many Country, Americana, or whatever genre the kids are calling twangy, honest, traditional American music these days. When you have someone like W.B. who dedicates his time without expectation of compensation, maintains integrity over popularity, and shares artists who go on to be stars, megastars, superstars and any other kind of star you can dream up, a platform like his becomes paramount to artists looking to stay fed on the road.
On the list of things synonymous with Minnesota, country music isn’t exactly one of them. For The Jensen Sisters, that leaves plenty of room to blaze a trail all their own. Which is exactly what the young songwriters are doing. It was only 5 years ago sisters Kansas (17) and Kendra (20) kicked off their musical careers, performing Waylon Jennings’ “Good Hearted Woman” on a whim in their high school talent show. “That was the moment. If there was ever one moment for us, that was it,” says Kendra. “It was such a natural snowball. That’s how I would describe it. We didn’t even conscientiously realize we were becoming musicians. It just kind of happened. I’m lucky that it’s never felt like something we had to push. It’s always just been something we’re behind and it keeps pulling us.”
If the goal is for a collection of songs to become a whole -- a sum of sustenance, an entirety -- Izzy Heltai accomplishes that with his debut album Father, each track serving as a stepping stone on a single path of discovery.
With arrangements by his childhood friend Micah, recorded at Sleeper Cave Records in his home state of Massachusetts and produced by Sophie Buskin, who also provides backing vocals and harmonies on the record, you get a sense of home and comfort along the way. Even without dissecting the moving lyrics and the undercurrent of growth and resolution, these are the tales of a person in bloom -- not so much the sunlit bursting of a garden bud but more the fuzzy unfurling of a woodland fern, the success of pushing up and through the ground covering that had nourished when it could have smothered.
