Earth Tones: Parting the Veil with Music

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by Genevieve Williams

A dear friend, shortly after the autumn equinox, pointed out that of course people were feeling tetchy and out of sorts--the year's balance had tilted toward darkness, after all, and from now until the middle of December we could expect decreasing daylight, increasing rain (well, let's be clear, we can expect that until March, if we're lucky), and general gloominess. He's right, but I've had a hard time with this time of year since moving to Seattle eight years ago.

Still, as it is for many of us, I suspect, Samhain is my favorite holiday (oh, heck, I like all of `em), at least in part due to mainstream Halloween celebrations. Dressing up is just so much fun, whatever the reasons. The music selected for this column, likewise, has that combination of frivolity and darkness that seems to typify this time of year, whether you celebrate Samhain, Halloween, Day of the Dead, or nothing at all. Perhaps not surprisingly, we're a little heavy on the blues this time around, with new albums from R. L. Burnside and David Jacobs-Strain, as well as music from Wales, America and India.

The Welsh music label Sain has made a bid for the greater exposure of Welsh music with the CD The Music of Wales: The Folk Collection, Y Casgliad Gwerin. Wales always seems to lurk in the background of people's general awareness of Things Celtic; most of us reading this probably know it as the home of the Mabinogi and King Arthur legends, but when it comes to Celtic music, Ireland tends to dominate. That's why the most surprising and rewarding attribute of this CD is its variety. There's pop, straight-up folk and the quiet harp meditations of Robin Huw Bowen. Some of it will sound very familiar, in that family-resemblance sort of way; Celtic is still Celtic, after all, even when it's Welsh, and as I pointed out when reviewing Galician singer and piper Susana Seivane last July, Celtic influence is more varied and pervasive than most people tend to think. That won't stop anyone from thinking that the fiddle-driven "Ffair y Borth/Hoffedd Menna," from traditional ensemble Pigyn Clust, sounds like something they've heard before, or from catching their ears on Heather Jones's "Lisa Lâ," a song often heard elsewhere in the British Isles. This CD might be a little difficult to find, but it's worth making the effort. Try www.sain.wales.com.

Speaking of quasi-obscurities of Celtic culture: it's mostly the concern of folklorists and ethnomusicologists, but it turns out that the stories and songs of the Appalachian region, which was largely settled by Scottish and Irish immigrants (some of whose descendants live very much as their ancestors did; there are mountain cabins practically a stone's throw from Washington D.C.), even today bear a certain resemblance to their roots. An audible example--and a fascinating recording in its own right--is Jean Ritchie's Mountain Hearth and Home, a limited-edition CD from Rhino. (Go to www.rhinohandmade.com for information.) Ritchie, who grew up in rural Kentucky singing songs handed down in her family, went on to major in social work at the University of Kentucky and moved to New York City in the 1940s. Initially performing her songs for the children in her programs, she ended up recording for then-new record label Elektra. Many of the songs, remastered and reissued for this collection, will sound familiar, and many have antecedents in the British Isles and elsewhere; "Black is the Color" is here, as are "One Morning in May," "Nottamun Town," and "The Hangman Song." There's even "False Sir John," considered to be a version of "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight." Many of these songs have become mainstays of American folk music; Janis Joplin recorded "Cuckoo," and Cordelia's Dad "Old Virginny." And "Skin and Bones" is a musical version of a story that's probably been told somewhere every Halloween for decades. All of this makes Mountain Hearth and Home a fascinating historical and folkloric document, but in addition, the songs themselves are just plain good--and, if you've spent any time in the Appalachian region, these songs will take you back there.

All folk and roots music is, at heart, an exploration of the tension between darkness and light, at least if it's honest. Sometime in the last 50 years, folk music garnered this reputation of being about birdies and butterflies, but it just ain't true: Like real country music (which is, of course, an outgrowth of American folk), you won't find more murder, violence, betrayal and general badness for your buck anywhere, and this is as true of the blues as any other kind of roots music. One of the more interesting artists to emerge in recent years is R. L. Burnside, whose recordings for the Fat Possum label (motto: "We're Trying Our Best") are intriguing intersections of the traditional and the modern. A lot of his work is also downright spooky. A perfect example is A Bothered Mind, his latest release, which includes electronic whooshes, scratching and other hip-hop touches (Kid Rock guests on "My Name is Robert Too") layered over a solid blues base. Burnside's work is unique; there's really nothing like hearing an old-fashioned blues growl backed up with an electronic track, and though other blues musicians have experimented in this direction, none have embraced it so whole-heartedly as Burnside. It's hip, but it works--and a lot of it's got a good beat you can dance to, too.

At first glance, David Jacobs-Strain seems like an unlikely blues guitar hero, especially one who embraces the traditional acoustic sound. Born in New Haven, CT (home of Yale) and brought up in Eugene, the 21-year-old Stanford student doesn't much fit the profile. On the other hand, it can be argued that the profile is a stereotype anyway, a holdover from a different era in American cultural history, and that what really matters is skilled musicianship and a clear perception born of experience. Jacobs-Strain has both of these, and with his new album, Ocean or a Teardrop (NorthernBlues), uses them to explore some surprising directions. "Kokomo Blues" is a fairly standard, dark-edged tale of twisted love, but the title track, which follows it, is a revelation. By now we're all familiar with the sentiments for and against the war in Iraq, not to mention the other conflicts our country's been involved in over the last few decades, but Jacobs-Strain brings the cost of war home on a personal level with this song, with a multi-layered musical arrangement that's a feast for the ears, and a lyrical sensitivity that recognizes the inevitability of human conflict without being resigned to it. Pretty sophisticated stuff for a 21-year-old, and there's plenty more to come on this solid and soul-catching album. The blues has always had a political dimension; it's not that blues or any other folk music has always been about protest, so much as that folk music is about clear perception and understanding of what it is to be human. Young as he is, it sounds like Jacobs-Strain has already figured that out.

Heading to the other side of the world for a bit, an intriguing release from a few years ago is the Tala Matrix (Axiom Records/Palm Pictures) from Tabla Beat Science. Tabla Beat Science has as its core the two highly regarded Indian musicians, Zakir Hussein and Ustad Sultan Khan. Tala Matrix was released in 2000, capitalizing on the resurgence of the tabla (a drum ubiquitous in Indian music) and associated sounds. These days, with the Indian/electronica fusion known as Asia Massive becoming commonplace in nightclubs, Tala Matrix isn't exactly new, but it is a chance to hear a couple of masters experimenting with the then-new idea of combining traditional percussion and vocal stylings with modern electronica. There are a number of guest stars as well; Talvin Singh, Trilok Gurtu, Karsh Kale and Bill Laswell lend their unique talents as musicians and electronic artists to this venture. The result is otherworldly and entrancing, a delicious blend that catches on the ear regardless of the listener's prior familiarity with this music. I've recommended a number of samplings from this musical stream over the past few years, but if you've yet to dip in, you could do worse than start here. Perhaps because it's an early experiment, or perhaps because all of these musicians have substantial experience with audiences both from their own cultures and in the West, Tala Matrix is an especially accessible piece of work.

Cultural transmission is an interesting thing. Even in these days of modern recording techniques and a distribution engine that allows music to travel around the world in seconds, the process of adaptation and evolution, while somewhat broader and speeded up, has remained pretty much the same. The musicians profiled here have, by and large, acquired their art the old-fashioned way: by listening and learning to those who came before them. As we honor our own ancestors this Samhain, that's something worth keeping in mind. It's not that this knowledge can't be found in books and on record; if there's one thing modern media has done for those of us at the receiving end, it's enabled us to access a greater variety and volume of just about anything than we ever could before. At the same time, though, the recordings recommended here are informed by an incredible richness that is testimony to the kind of knowledge gained only by experience.

Upcoming concerts of interest include Bacchus Plays Messiaen, a piano trio performance at Town Hall on November 7; Town Hall also presents the English Concert from the Early Music Guild on November 12, see www.townhallseattle.org for details. Leif Alpsjö who plays the Scandinavian nyckelharpa, performs at the Nordic Heritage Museum on November 14; see www.nordicmuseum.com. DJ Darek Mazzone, a proponent of Asia Massive and similar musical experimentations, is currently resident Friday nights at the Mirabeau Room on Lower Queen Anne.

Genevieve Williams is a Seattle freelance writer and drummer. She can be reached at rimrun@drizzle.com with feedback, suggestions or recommendations. Local musicians and Pagan groups are encouraged to submit material for review and show listings.