Episode 35, Thursday, November 17
This is episode 35 of Old Fellas new Music. Nine great songs all newer than 2015 along with fun conversation. We hope you give this a listen!
Cedric Burnside – Get Down
Khruangbin with Vieux Farka Touré – Tamalla (2020) – Austin City Limits & KEXP
(2022) (CBC The Block)
Valerie June – Shakedown
Trinidad Cardona, Davido, Aisha – Hayya Hayya (Better Together)
Gwenifer Raymond – Sweep It Up
Beatrice Deer – The Storm
Buffalo Nichols – How to Love
Julian Taylor – Wide Awake
Joachim Cooder – Heartaching Blues
Cedric Burnside
Get Down First up is a nice party track from Cedric Burnside.
Burnside is an American electric blues artist. He is the grandson of late blues great R. L. Burnside. He even toured with the elder Burnside at the age of 13 as a drummer. From the 2021 lp “I Be Trying”
The National Endowments for the Arts has a nice feature on him https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/cedric-burnside
Hayya Hayya (Better Together)
26,827,786 views Apr 1, 2022
This is the first single of the multi-song FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Soundtrack.
Artists: Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha. Such a great song. I am sure you will be hearing this a lot over the next few weeks. Oh and make sure you watch the video!
Valerie June
is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Memphis, Tennessee. The track, Shakedown come from 2017’s “The Order of Time “ album. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album at No. 24 on their “50 Best Albums of 2017” Shakedown is a nice southern blues and gospel-based groove. https://www.popmatters.com/valerie-june-shakedown-singles-going-steady-2495403955.html
Beatrice Deer’s ‘SHIFTING’ Is a Multilingual Merger of Darkness and Light (Exclaim)
Published Dec 08, 2021
Montreal-based singer-songwriter Beatrice Deer understands how to merge opposite worlds to birth a fresh, inventive new one. A blend of modern folk tales with traditional Inuit ones serves as a landscape for her music, where the sounds of classic indie pop and rock are interwoven with Inuit throat singing. On top of this, the half-Inuk, half-Mohawk artist also sings in three languages: English, French and Inuktitut, at times switching between multiple within one song. Her approach to bringing these elements together is skillful and graceful on her sixth studio album SHIFTING, where she explores the emotions surrounding getting older and moving on to another phase of life.
On paper, SHIFTING may sound daunting and overly complicated for those who only speak one language, but Deer’s ability to craft a seamless flow between her songs and highlight universal themes of transformation and growth can lead any listener to enjoy the journey. “Emotionally, spiritually, and physically, the transition towards our authentic selves continues,” she shared of the album. “As I shift into the position where I’m meant to be, I want to keep using what I’ve learned to help others.”
CBC Q
Canadian singer-songwriter Beatrice Deer joined Tom Power to talk about merging her Inuk-Mohawk heritage with indie rock sounds on her latest album, Shifting.
Aired: Dec. 9, 2021
Gwenifer Raymond – Sweep It Up
https://guitar.com/features/interviews/gwenifer-raymond-welsh-acoustic-virtuoso-and-game-designer/
Gwenifer Raymond is a Welsh guitarist originally from Cardiff Wales but now living in Brighton, England. Critics are categorizing her style as following in the American Primitive genre like forbearers John Fahey. In addition to being an accomplished musician, she has earned an MA and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. She also is a computer programmer, first in artificial intelligence, and later as an audio programmer for video games. She continued to study and play gigs in coffee houses and pubs.
From 2018’s You Never Were Much of a Dancer, “Sweep it Up”
Here’s more! Gwenifer Raymond at the Brighton Toy Museum.
Khruangbin with Vieux Farka Touré – Tamalla (2020) –
I saw this band first on Austin City Limits & KEXP
Khruangbin and Vieux Farka Touré have announced a new collaborative album. Ali is in honor of Vieux’s late father Ali Farka Touré; the artists recreate and pay homage to his work across the new album. It’s out September 23 via Dead Oceans
Khruangbin is an American musical trio from Houston, Texas. The band comprises Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald “DJ” Johnson Jr. on drums.[2]The band is known for blending global music influences, such as classic soul, dub, rock and psychedelia.[3][4] Their debut studio album, The Universe Smiles Upon You (2015), draws from the history of Thai music in the 1960s, specifically from Luk thung, while their second album, Con Todo el Mundo (2018), has influences from Spain and the Middle East, specifically Iran.[2] Speer, Lee, and DJ also host “AirKhruang” radio shows on NTS Radio and Facebook Live.[5] In September 2022, the band released the album, Ali in collaboration with Vieux Farka Touré, featuring songs by Vieux’s father, Ali Farka Touré.
Buffalo Nichols – How to Love
Blues performer Carl ‘Buffalo’ Nichols was born in Houston, Texas, but was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Per Wikipedia, Growing up in Milwaukee, Nichols found his place behind the guitar. In poring over records from other artists, he would sometimes listen to a song as many as 200 times to understand the chord or riff and play it. Nichols traveled across West Africa and Europe, discovering how tradition could be updated for contemporary listeners. That’s his mission in releasing Buffalo Nichols. “Part of my intent, making myself more comfortable with this release, is putting more Black stories into the genres of folk and blues”, he said. “Listening to this record, I want more Black people to hear themselves in this music that is truly theirs”. From 2021’s self titled lp
Here’s a nice comprehensive article on Nichols from Rolling Stone Magazine.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/blues-buffalo-nichols-1296676/
Julian Taylor – Wide Awake
an excerpt that gives you some idea of the work Julian Taylor has done over the years.
It’s rare in this era to see an artist build slowly and reach a new level of widespread acclaim two decades into their career. But Julian’s ethos, work ethic, and artistry has always had a timeless quality to it. And so, he’s built things slowly in a DIY fashion, withstanding highs and lows along the way, ultimately reaching the peak of his powers with his latest solo work. Fans and critics have noticed, granting Julian the Solo Artist of the Year honour at the Canadian Folk Music Awards (and nomination in the English Songwriter category), plus two Juno Award nominations in 2021, as well as a Polaris Music Prize nomination.
https://juliantaylormusic.ca/about
Joachim Cooder – Heartaching Blues from 2020’s On That Road I’m Bound
Joachim Herbert Cooder is a percussionist and keyboardist best known for his collaborations with his father, Ry Cooder. His primary instrument is the electric mbira, a variation on the traditional African thumb piano. This gives you an idea of what he plays.
Here, Cooder covers an old Uncle Dave Macon song Heartaching Blues.
For comparison here’s Uncle Dave Macon version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msk98ITgJG8
Whole-Hearted 