Album Club
23-04-2013, 22:26
Big thanks to Barry (http://theartofsound.net/forum/member.php?u=976) for this week's choice:
The following is an adaptation of a much longer piece I wrote here (http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com/?s=Snakefarm&searchsubmit=).
Snakefarm - Songs From My Funeral (1999)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31QVYVC5XGL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
How does one describe Snakefarm’s ‘Songs From My Funeral’? Is it Portishead meets Nick Cave and together they sing American folk classics? Perhaps. Is it slinky ‘80s ‘middle of the road’ meets drum ‘n’ bass? Maybe. Is it jazz funk meets trip-hop? Not quite.
Snakefarm are the collaboration between singer Anna Domino and her guitarist partner Michael Delory. ‘Songs From My Funeral’ could well be described as a concept album in that the themes for the songs are murder ballads, songs about death and the consequences of the opening up of the American Midwest through the building of railways; sometimes more than one motif is included in a song. Even the lullaby sung at the end is distinctly unsettling. All the songs are reinterpretations of traditional American folk ballads.
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/4d/73/2d34e03ae7a0d55631e22210.L._V221791636_SL200_.jpg
spotify:album:1ZwdCz5Br4YV4JYOqMttud
Now all this sounds quite gloomy and depressing, but it’s not. Thanks to Snakefarm’s reworking of these folk classics the results, whilst dark and atmospheric, are actually surprisingly up-tempo. The darkness comes from Anna Domino’s vocals, which through the use of filters and other effects sounds cool, sultry but at times also detached and remote. There are distinct similarities here to the voices of Laurie Anderson and of Margo Timmins (singer with the Cowboy Junkies). This coolness is largely counterbalanced by the imaginative use of sampling, wind instruments and drum programming, and of time signatures, hence the seemingly contradictory musical styles suggested at the beginning.
This is a good place to introduce the musicians. They are:
Anna Domino – vocals and vocal effects, electric guitar and accordion,
Michael Delory – electric, acoustic and classical guitars, dobro, banjo and keyboard and drum programming,
Paul Dugan – upright, Arco and Fender bass,
Stephan Ulrich – electric guitar solos and effects,
Paul Shapiro – tenor sax, flute and recorder.
xShpBdQd0yg _tvwcJ0Y8hg
XZAwDA4w_xE vuzrgu55lkA
So how do we summarise ‘Songs From My Funeral’? Well, all the tracks are a refreshing take on the classic American folk ballads. Given the sombre nature of the material, Snakefarm’s arrangements are surprisingly up beat and a change from the traditional treatment given by past performers. The most obvious criticism might be the lack of variety of the arrangements, leading to an unchanging and perhaps tiresome presentation. Clearly this is Snakefarm’s ‘sound’, but it is not for everyone.
Snakefarm ‘Songs From My Funeral’, 1999, RCA BMG Kneeling Elephant, RCA 07863 67687-2
The following is an adaptation of a much longer piece I wrote here (http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com/?s=Snakefarm&searchsubmit=).
Snakefarm - Songs From My Funeral (1999)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31QVYVC5XGL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
How does one describe Snakefarm’s ‘Songs From My Funeral’? Is it Portishead meets Nick Cave and together they sing American folk classics? Perhaps. Is it slinky ‘80s ‘middle of the road’ meets drum ‘n’ bass? Maybe. Is it jazz funk meets trip-hop? Not quite.
Snakefarm are the collaboration between singer Anna Domino and her guitarist partner Michael Delory. ‘Songs From My Funeral’ could well be described as a concept album in that the themes for the songs are murder ballads, songs about death and the consequences of the opening up of the American Midwest through the building of railways; sometimes more than one motif is included in a song. Even the lullaby sung at the end is distinctly unsettling. All the songs are reinterpretations of traditional American folk ballads.
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/4d/73/2d34e03ae7a0d55631e22210.L._V221791636_SL200_.jpg
spotify:album:1ZwdCz5Br4YV4JYOqMttud
Now all this sounds quite gloomy and depressing, but it’s not. Thanks to Snakefarm’s reworking of these folk classics the results, whilst dark and atmospheric, are actually surprisingly up-tempo. The darkness comes from Anna Domino’s vocals, which through the use of filters and other effects sounds cool, sultry but at times also detached and remote. There are distinct similarities here to the voices of Laurie Anderson and of Margo Timmins (singer with the Cowboy Junkies). This coolness is largely counterbalanced by the imaginative use of sampling, wind instruments and drum programming, and of time signatures, hence the seemingly contradictory musical styles suggested at the beginning.
This is a good place to introduce the musicians. They are:
Anna Domino – vocals and vocal effects, electric guitar and accordion,
Michael Delory – electric, acoustic and classical guitars, dobro, banjo and keyboard and drum programming,
Paul Dugan – upright, Arco and Fender bass,
Stephan Ulrich – electric guitar solos and effects,
Paul Shapiro – tenor sax, flute and recorder.
xShpBdQd0yg _tvwcJ0Y8hg
XZAwDA4w_xE vuzrgu55lkA
So how do we summarise ‘Songs From My Funeral’? Well, all the tracks are a refreshing take on the classic American folk ballads. Given the sombre nature of the material, Snakefarm’s arrangements are surprisingly up beat and a change from the traditional treatment given by past performers. The most obvious criticism might be the lack of variety of the arrangements, leading to an unchanging and perhaps tiresome presentation. Clearly this is Snakefarm’s ‘sound’, but it is not for everyone.
Snakefarm ‘Songs From My Funeral’, 1999, RCA BMG Kneeling Elephant, RCA 07863 67687-2