Reviews

Interview with Æ

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On today’s show I speak with Aurelia Shrenker and Eva Primack, amazing singers and ex-UCLA enthnomusicology students who have relocated to New York and together form the singing duet “Æ.” They do a wonderful and unprecedented mix of songs from the Balkans and Eastern Europe, mixed and mashed with ballads from the American South.  A & E sing together in a capella arrangements and also accompany themselves on accordion and panduri, a 3-string lute from the Republic of Georgia.  Because of their wonderful voices, good approach and depth of knowledge, it works really well.
Tamar Korn, the singer with the Cangelosi Cards told me I had to come down to Barbes, a club in Brooklyn to hear Æ, so I went not knowing at all what to expect.  They were great!  I caught up with them a few days later to record this interview before they left for a West Coast tour.

Check out their website for tour dates:

More info on the band bellow (from their press release):
Æ (Aurelia Lucy Shrenker and Eva Salina Primack) has been performing as a duo for a year.  Aurelia and Eva have performed together in Europe, New York, and California and are finishing up their debut CD!  The two women bring together a deep knowledge of different vocal traditions, and create something new and daring with each song they sing together. They have chosen the name Æ (the joined a and e, officially pronounced “ash”) because it represents something of a dual nature–not singular, not plural, but exactly two.  They primarily perform a cappella but enjoy accompanying themselves on mountain dulcimer, accordion, and Georgian panduri.  In addition to their upcoming CD, Æ recently contributed to the soundtrack of “The Great Soviet Eclipse”, the newest film produced under the auspices of the Museum of Jurassic Technology and the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Information (www.mjt.org). Æ’s work is rooted in folk culture and never falls short of being visceral and provocative–in their music, the exuberance of youth and the reverence of ancient tradition coincide.

Down Home Radio makes The Village Voice’s “Best of New York” issue

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Check out the Village Voice for a nice write up of Down Home Radio.  DHR won in the “Best Way to Compensate for the Lack of Roots-Music Radio” category.

“Everyone complains about how the local airwaves suck, but instead of bitching, you should go online to find a Gotham-based program that actually has good roots music—the podcast-formatted Down Home Radio Show…“

Here’s the rest of what they wrote.

Plus, the Jalopy Theater won in the “Best Old-Timey Venue” category!

“American Folk Music & Left-Wing Politics: 1927-1957″- A Book Review by Mat Callahan

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Pictured on the cover are The Almanac Singers

What follows is a review of the book, “American Folk Music & Left-Wing Politics 1927-1957″ by Richard A. Reuss and completed after his death by JoAnne C. Reuss. This is an awesome book, the best book on the subject. I discovered it while doing research in my college library, I found it in its pre-book form, as Richard Reuss’ doctoral dissertation (unindexed!) and then to my delight discovered it had recently been published. This book is remarkably lucid, the stuff he says makes sense (as opposed to many other books that try to deal with music and politics, which do not make sense). Reuss was a gifted researcher and in the course of reading the book you realize that he has uncovered and written down the real interactions that characterize the relationship between the musicians in the scene and political events that played out in more or less the Popular Front period surrounding World War ll. This was certainly a seminal time, making possible the careers of many great artists including Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Leadbelly (as well Henrietta Yurchenco). This excellent book review was done by Mat Callahan, author of another great book on music and politics called, “The Trouble with Music.”

– Eli Smith (Host- Down Home Radio, etc.)

Book Review by Mat Callahan, musician and author of the book, “The Trouble with Music.”

American Folk Music & Left-Wing Politics: 1927-1957
Richard A. Reuss with JoAnne C. Reuss

Richard A. Reuss came to folklore studies by way of his interest in music. He led a folksinging group while a counselor at summer camp and as an undergraduate student at Ohio Wesleyan University. He earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1971. He taught at Wayne State University in Detroit, broadening his studies to labor lore and music.

J.B. Smith: Ever Since I Have Been A Man Full Grown

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Ever Since I've Been a Man Fullgrown

“Been returning recently to one of the more intense and affecting albums I’ve experienced in my short life of trouble: recordings made by Bruce Jackson in 1965 at Texas’s Ramsey Prison Farm (now the Ramsey Unit) of a fellow named Johnnie B., or J. B., Smith. The record was released in 1966 on John Fahey’s Takoma label, and is as far as I can tell the only LP devoted to a single unaccompanied singer of prison work-song (or field hollers, if you prefer). Not only that: the LP, “Ever Since I Have Been A Man Full Grown,” devotes nearly all of its second side to a composition of Smith’s of that same name, a 24-minute opus drawing on imagery and lyrics most fans of African American work songs, hollers, and blues will find familiar, but strung together and performed with an artistry and delivery both unsettling and incredibly moving.” – Nathan Salsburg , excerpt from his entry on the Root Hog or Die blog.

I was first made aware of this record, and its incredible title track, by Nathan Salsburg, host of the fantastic internet radio show Root Hog or Die. I listened to the record and was blown away. Then Nathan played it again on his show last week and I realized the gravity of the situation and that I had to jump on this bandwagon and post the album on my site as well. This song, “Ever Since I Have Been A Man Full Grown,” is a masterpiece, it draws together moving lines and imagery from all across the spectrum of folk music. Smith’s performance is apparently completely relaxed and masterful. Give this 24 minute song the time it deserves. Listen closely or intermittently, or both as it bears many repeat listenings.

This record was digitized and is available for download on the Magic of Juju blog.

Click Here To Download the Record directly!

Bruce Jackson, the folklorist who made this field recording is currently a distinguished professor of American Culture at State University of New York at Buffalo and edits the online journal The Buffalo Report, mostly covering politics but also some cultural stuff. He mentioned Down Home Radio last year when Henrietta and I rebroadcast the program she produced on WNYC back in 1940 featuring Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. In 1966 Bruce Jackson, together with Pete, Toshi and Dan Seeger made a film called “Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison.” An incredible film, you can watch it for free on your computer at FolkStreams.net. Bruce Jackson continues to do great work, definitely check him out.

Roots of the Otis Brothers

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The Otis Brothers - R. Crumb
(The Otis Brother’s first album cover, artwork by R. Crumb)

Todays show features a selection of the original recordings which influenced Queens, NY based blues/pre-blues string band, The Otis Brothers. These guys have listened to a lot of music! An hours worth of their influences provide a listening pleasure and real education in early blues and stringband music captured on commercial 78 rpm records and field recordings. The picture of early blues music painted by a sampling the Otis Brothers influences is a remarkable one. There was so much more to play than there was time for on this one program, but hopefully this is a good sample. Be sure to check out the previous episode of Down Home Radio; an interview with the Otis Brothers.

Also, click the 2nd play button above to hear a mini episode featuring Pat Conte’s commentary on “The Lonely Cowboy,” the only song recorded by cowboy singer and musical singularity Arthur Miles, back in 1927. He sings, yodels, and then something else. Is it throat singing or humming and whistling?!? Hear what Pat Conte has to say, then you decide!

See below for a track listing from todays program as well as a list of recommendations on more music to listen to:

List of Free Internet Music Resources

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On today’s episode I play only tracks that I have downloaded for free from the internet. I actually ended up using only tracks that I got from the fantastic music blog www.eldiablotuntun.blogspot.com , but there are many other great ones out there! See my complete list below. The internet has made it possible to hear pretty much anything you want, even and especially obscure folk music, for free. This is quite a positive turn of events – the only trouble is finding out what you want to hear. Down Home Radio is here to help! But you can now really educate your self thoroughly, feed your aural addiction and generally have a great time, with out breaking the bank. This should be taken advantage of to the fullest extent.

Here’s my list of favorite music blogs, archives and downloading software:

(If anybody has additions to this list, please let me know!)

http://eldiablotuntun.blogspot.com

http://www.juneberry78s.com

http://totallyfuzzy.blogspot.com/ – Search the world of music blogs!

and more… See below:

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song – A Review

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The documentary film on the life and work of Pete Seeger appropriately entitled “The Power of Song” is currently playing in New York City and at Upstate films in Rhinebeck, NY. I saw it when it premiered last Spring at the Tribeca Film Festival, and as it has now come out in the theaters I thought it time to write my own review.

The short answer – Its great!! See it right away.

The film was done by Jim Brown with empathy, knowledge and insight – it will move you. Brown has a history with Seeger – he first met him as a boy when he was Lee Hayes’ gardener. He is a skilled and experienced documentary film maker in the field of folk music and leftwing politics, 25 years ago he did film on the Weavers, he also did a film on the song “We Shall Overcome” as well as many others.