nolamike
star
Old Fart At Play
Posts: 874
|
Post by nolamike on Jan 25, 2019 14:28:36 GMT
A true one-of-a-kind artist. He only recorded eighteen songs, all between 1927 and 1929, and they are, in every sense of the phrase, "other-worldly." His singing voice is gentle - think Elizabeth Cotton or Mississippi John Hurt - and his instrumentation, a homemade combination of a celestaphone and a phono harp, is best described as "celestial chiming" (to borrow a phrase from Amanda Petrusich's New Yorker article on him).
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2019 14:43:44 GMT
magical music from weird old america.
|
|
|
Post by dipstick on Jan 25, 2019 17:50:25 GMT
This genre of American music has a purity to it that belies the many influences that got it to that point. The subject matter is invariably religious but the instrumentation and singing style can be quite diverse.
My question with Phillips is how did he settle on that particular instrument? There are a lot of twists and turns with instrumentation origins but I would think something that unique would be a little easier to track.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2019 18:53:03 GMT
I always find it interesting how musicians gravitate towards their instruments. Sometimes its circumstance, in that they come across them from a relative or are given them or they're laying around the house or something, but these folks, especially of this era, were largely self taught.
It's always interesting to see those old blues players picking techniques. They're so individual. Elizabeth Cotten was one of them. Self taught and perfected according to what they practiced and the sound they liked or went with their songwriting.
I was recently looking at some John Lee Hooker performances and what he does looks so simple, but the sound he pulled out of it it seems like only he can get, although tons have tried. They get close, but never right on.
|
|
|
Post by jeffk on Jan 25, 2019 19:02:20 GMT
Never heard of him before. This is pretty amazing!
|
|
|
Post by jeffk on Jan 25, 2019 19:09:47 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Charlie O. on Jan 25, 2019 19:29:25 GMT
Love him to bits.
|
|
nolamike
star
Old Fart At Play
Posts: 874
|
Post by nolamike on Jan 25, 2019 19:35:33 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Charlie O. on Jan 25, 2019 20:14:07 GMT
I'll second that. You can also get it as a hi-res download from Bandcamp, with the book in pdf form.
|
|