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Gwenifer Raymond — You Never Were Much of a Dancer (June 29, 2018)

Gwenifer Raymond — You Never Were Much of a Dancer (June 29, 2018)

Flag of Wales. Gwenifer Raymond — You Never Were Much of a DancerGwenifer Raymond — You Never Were Much of a Dancer (June 29, 2018)★⦿★          Rozptýlené americké primitivní instrumenty, vycházející z kořenů hudby delty Mississippi a Appalačských hor. Začala v osmi letech. “Prostřednictvím těch levných kompilačních CD, které by jste běžně mohli získat, jsem zjistila, že společný vliv na a mezi [umělci jako Dylan & The Velvet Underground] mělo blues před a po válce, stejně jako hudba z Appalačských hor, resp. appalačská hudba. Nakonec jsem narazila na Mississippi John Hurta, Skipa Jamese & Roscoe Holcomba, a ti se stali svatou trojicí muzikantů, podle kterých jsem chtěla takhle hrát. Nakonec jsem vysledovala jistého bluesmana v Cardiffu, který mě mohl naučit hrát, a bylo to ve studiu těchto chlápků, že jsem pak byla představena Johnu Faheymu & The Whole american primitive thing”. Fingerpicking good. Sparse American primitive instrumentals drawn from the roots music of Mississippi and Appalachia. Influenced by the likes of Skip James, John Fahey, Roscoe Holcomb and John Hurt. The Welsh multi~instrumentalist delivers an incredibly accomplished set of solo acoustic pieces that stroll through a vast range of styles & moods, including finger picking, banjo & slide.
★⦿★          American primitive guitar is a fingerstyle guitar music genre which was first originated by John Fahey in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Although increasingly confused in recent years, American primitive guitar is distinct and different from American primitivism, which refers to certain painting and sculptural art forms which arose in the 1890s. Hailing from Cardiff & now residing in Brighton, Raymond began playing guitar at the age of eight. In her own words: “Through those cheap compilation cds you could get then, i found that a common influence amongst [artists like Dylan & The Velvet Underground] was pre~war delta & country blues, as well as appalachian music. Eventually i stumbled upon Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James & Roscoe Holcomb, & they became the holy trinity of musicians i so wanted to able to play like. Eventually, i tracked down a blues man in Cardiff who could teach me & it was in studying these guys that i was introduced to John Fahey & The Whole american primitive thing”.
Location: Cardiff, Wales ~ Brighton, UK
Genre: Americana, Blues, Folk music
Album release: June 29, 2018
Record Label: Tompkins Square
Duration:     39:25
Tracks:
01. Off to See the Hangman, Pt. I     0:57
02. Sometimes There’s Blood     4:48
03. Idumea     2:42
04. Off to See the Hangman, Pt. II     4:45
05. Face Down Strut     1:35
06. Laika’s Song     1:48
07. Oh, Command Me Lord !     2:13
08. Sweep It Up     2:04
09. Requiem for John Fahey     3:04
10. Dance of the Everlasting Faint     4:26
11. Bleeding Finger Blues     1:58
12. Sack ‘em Up, Pt. I / Sack ‘em Up, Pt. II     5:41
13. It Was All Sackcloth and Ashes     3:24
Review
Michael Hann | Fri 29 Jun 2018 09.30 BST | Score: ★★★★★
Gwenifer Raymond: You Were Never Much of a Dancer review — fingerpicking good.
★⦿★          The 32~year~old Welsh multi~instrumentalist Gwenifer Raymond is a perfect advertisement for the benefits of chasing down rabbit holes. As a young Nirvana fan, she heard their cover of Lead Belly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night and started hunting down American acoustic blues, then sought guitar lessons from a teacher who introduced her to , the pioneer of American primitive guitar music. Fahey echoes throughout her mesmerising debut album (there’s even a track called Requiem for John Fahey). So much so that hearing it blind you would refuse to believe it had been recorded by a Brighton resident originally from Wales. Surely this stew of bluegrass, blues and haunted Americana could only come from a land where cotton and tobacco grow.
★⦿★          The opening track, Off to See the Hangman Part I, is a red herring, Raymond picking out a droning, Arabic~inflected melody on an old violin. But on the second, Sometimes There’s Blood, the fingerpicking begins and never lets up. It’s a wonderful and mysterious album: Raymond plays everything herself, with attention to detail not just in playing but in instrumentation (a 1920s Bradley Kincaid “Houn’ Dog” parlour guitar included). It’s music that creaks, in which you can hear the metaphorical wind whistling through the figurative cracks in the walls. Please don’t assume it’s all southern gothic for acoustic instruments, though: there’s joy in the the fast picking of Face Down Strut and the frantic Appalachian banjo picking of Oh, Command Me Lord! This is a gorgeous album, and Gwenifer Raymond is a profound talent.
★⦿★          https://www.theguardian.com/
Bandcamp: https://gweniferraymond.bandcamp.com/album/you-never-were-much-of-a-dancer
Website: https://gweniferraymond.com/
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Gwenifer Raymond — You Never Were Much of a Dancer (June 29, 2018)

ALBUM COVERS XI.