Utne Reader Music Sampler September 2011

By Staff
Published on August 31, 2011
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These songs are no longer available. Download the latest sampler on the first of the month here.


Brown Bird
Brown Bird made waves at this year’s Newport Folk Festival with its moody, cello-shrouded music, in which folk and blues artfully mix it up with Eastern European influences. Supply & Demand releases the album Salt for Salt on October 18.

“Fingers to the Bone” by Brown Bird (To download, right click–control click for Mac users–on the link and “Save Target As.”) 



Ghostfunk

Ghostfunk is a seamless mashup of ’60s and ’70s afro-funk and the playful rapping of Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah. The mix was done by Max Tannone, who has also remixed Jay-Z with Radiohead, Mos Def and Talib Kweli with dub reggae, and the Beastie Boys with, well, the Beastie Boys.

“Danger 500” by Ghostfunk (To download, right click–control click for Mac users–on the link and “Save Target As.”) 



Sandro Perri

“Love & Light” begins as a quirky jaunting tune, but dismantles itself by song’s end. It’s a vividly sparse, tell-all approach to folk songwriting, and Sandro Perri bares his craft with humility. Impossible Spaces is out on Constellation Records on October 18.

“Love & Light” by Sandro Perri (To download, right click–control click for Mac users–on the link and “Save Target As.”) 



Jake Schepps

Hungarian folk music meets American roots instruments on Jake Schepps’ An Evening in the Village: The Music of Bela Bartok, which comes out October 6 on Fine Mighty Records. The album finds Bartok’s peasant-inspired melodies delivered by banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and double bass in a surprisingly simpatico fashion.

“Play Song (#9: 44 Violin Duos)” by Jake Schepps (To download, right click–control click for Mac users–on the link and “Save Target As.”) 



Balmorhea

This six-piece chamber ensemble is anything but classical. The cello, double bass, and piano are accompanied by a traditional rock setup–and evoke the high and low feelings of exploring a newly discovered frontier. Live at Sint-Elisabethkerk is out September 6 (Western Vinyl).

“Untitled” by Balmorhea (To download, right click–control click for Mac users–on the link and “Save Target As.”) 



John Wesley Harding

Sharp-witted John Wesley Harding has been churning out first-rate folk-rock–along with novels, chapbooks, essays, and reviews–for years, but he’s hit a particularly good stride on The Sound of His Own Voice. It comes out October 11 on Yep Roc and will not be available at a Starbucks near you.

“There’s a Starbucks (Where the Starbucks Used to Be)” by John Wesley Harding (To download, right click–control click for Mac users–on the link and “Save Target As.”) 


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