Güero - Sivu - Mighty Poplar
Sacramento quartet Güero have returned a new single "Streams Of Light" this week, to announce their sophomore full-length album, Wednesdays, for an April 7 release via Dutch Records. Discussing “Streams of Light”, bassist Russell Volksen noted, "This song really has that doo-wop vibe, like Sam Cooke, The Ronnettes, etc. Russell always loved those songs, so he wrote the chord progression after listening to a lot of Black Marble and envisioned it as more of a dreamy pop song with an eight-note style bassline.
Rik came up with a vocal melody and the guitar riff. The catchiness of the ‘Streams of Light’ lyric gave Shea the idea to put together a three-part harmony to sit underneath Rik's vocals on the chorus and outro. Rik's vocal melody and lyrics give you subtle references to the era while allowing it to remain modern and original. It conjures different images in your mind but isn’t specific to one thing.
Through the course of playing this song as a band, it really morphed into the doo-wop style that it is now. Mike immediately gave it a signature feel with the boom-chick-chick, boom-chick rhythm on the drums, which after hearing it, we wanted that rhythm to start and the song. As the song began to take its final shape, Russell drew inspiration from 'Stand By Me' when finalizing his bassline.
Shea came up with the rhythmic chords on the keys to cement the swing and dance feel to it. He also added a pulsing vibrato, short delay and a ton of reverb to help give the keys a traditional tone to the genre. We really wanted to pay homage to something we love while keeping our individuality. It’s fun to have different styles of songs to play and this one feels like a real pop song."
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Sivu - Wild Horse Running.
Sivu (aka British songwriter James Page) returns with a new single "Wild Horse Running" - the first new music to heard from him in five years, following his widely acclaimed albums Sweet Sweet Silent (2017) and Something On High (2014).
Produced by long time collaborator Charlie Andrew - the Brit-winning, Grammy-nominated producer responsible for the tender, soaring styles of Alt-J, London Grammar and Marika Hackman - "Wild Horse Running" provides a glimpse into Page's renewed and galvanised sense of purpose and resilience, both as a songwriter and as a human. The song's release arrives alongside the announcement of an intimate headline show at Blue Moon in Cambridge on 25th February.
Borne from a need to escape - "Wild Horse Running" merges warbling electronic bass lines with delicate stabs of piano, as Page's unmistakeable falsetto glistens, shining through the compelling arrangements. "I’m a man / Still with something to prove", he offers in the track's opening verse - by his own admittance, a mockery of his own ego - which he quickly resolves - "I’m a man / I know it all means nothing in truth".
Delving more into the track's lyrical themes, Page said: ''Wild Horse Running' grew from this yearning to escape, whether mentally or physically I’m still unsure - but to me the image of a wild horse running is the epitome of freedom and conjures so many feelings of strength, resilience and really a triumph in physical evolution. From there the song just grew in my mind, with an almost cinematic view in my head.
I played on that imagery also, within the song mocking myself and my own male ego having this constant need to improve and selfishly fulfil my own desires over anyone else’s needs in the pre chorus, “I’m A man, I’m a man, still with something to prove, I’m a man, still I know it all means nothing in truth”. I think ultimately the song is just me trying to convince myself I’m not done yet and still have something to contribute. It’s incredibly self indulgent but a general battle I face within my core as a musician and now father."
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Free Dirt Records is proud to announce the self-titled debut album from new roots music supergroup Mighty Poplar. Bringing together Andrew Marlin from Watchhouse, Noam Pikelny and Chris Eldridge from Punch Brothers, Greg Garrison (Leftover Salmon), and Alex Hargreaves (Billy Strings), Mighty Poplar was formed as a vehicle for these artists to explore their love of improvisation through straight ahead bluegrass.
Mighty Poplar’s first single, “Up on the Divide,” was released today. It’s a beautiful song from the pen of cowboy poet and songwriter Martha Scanlan. At its heart, bluegrass music is about what happens when you commit to the moment. The joy of improvisation keeps the music fresh, and the fun of crafting ideas on the fly keeps the musicians on their toes. This true spirit of bluegrass infuses the self-titled record from Mighty Poplar, coming March 31, 2023 on Free Dirt Records. Regarded as some of the finest players of their generation, the playing is never showy and always in service of the song.
Though Pikelny, Eldridge, Garrison all knew each other from their early work with Punch Brothers, impromptu backstage jams with Marlin at festivals across the country were the key that unlocked the project. A lifelong song collector, Marlin selected and sang lead on most of the songs here, bringing classics as well as deep cuts from greats like Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard, John Hartford, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Norman Blake. Throughout, the songs and tunes are as immediate and emotionally impactful as the playing is tasteful. Gathered knee-to-knee in a rural studio outside Nashville, the collaborative 10-track album emerged organically over a few days.
“It felt so special and effortless; it didn’t take work,” says Eldridge, “other than the work and effort we’ve put in the rest of our lives.” With their debut album, Mighty Poplar has captured the fierce and playful energy of an all-night jam between old friends who just happen to be grandmasters of the music.
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