Applewood Road "Losing My Religion"

Susan Cattaneo featuring Bill Kirchen "In The Grooves" music video

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Applewood Road artwork

 Credit: Stacie Huckeba

 Credit: Stacie Huckeba

Credit: Stacie Huckeba

Susan Cattaneo artwork

 Credit: Jyoti Sackett

 The Hammer & The Heart cover art

Susan w/ Bill Kirchen, credit: Dino Cattaneo

NPR ALL THINGS CONSIDERED PERFORMANCE/CHAT, KCRW & OKAYPLAYER HAIL ECLECTIC MUSICIAN KRYSTLE WARREN’S FIRST ALBUM IN FIVE YEARS ‘THREE THE HARD WAY’ (AUGUST 18 / PARLOUR DOOR MUSIC)

2012’S ‘LOVE SONGS,” ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR” (GUARDIAN) TO BE REISSUED FOR ITS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

 

“ONE OF THE GREATEST LIVING SINGERS,” SAYS COLLABORATOR RUFUS WAINWRIGHT

 

Krystle Warren – the singer, songwriter, bandleader, and Rufus Wainwright collaborator  – will release her first album in five years ‘Three The Hard Way’ on August 18 on Parlour Door Music. NPR All Things Considered spoke with her about the announcement, calling her music “evocative storytelling."

 

Link to first single “Thanks and Praise” (OK to share).

 

Recorded, mixed, and co-produced by Ben Kane (D’Angelo, Emily King, PJ Morton), it’s also earned early spins on KCRW. okayplayer hailed its announcement, calling her "a light in dark times," continuing, "If you're a fan of uncut soul and spirited r&b, Krystle Warren should not escape your gaze or rotation.” A potent mix of styles, ‘Three The Hard Way’ swirls with R&B, folk music, jazz, hip hop, blues, gospel strains and yet is entirely original in its sound and scope, which ranges from spirituality and love to the effects of social media on our lives and gentrification. One of the album’s most poignant moments is “Red Clay,” about the Tulsa, OK African-American community of Greenwood that was destroyed by the Klu Klux Klan in a riot in 1921, not far from where Warren’s grandmother lived.

 

She will also reissue her 2012 album ‘Love Songs,’ hailed as “one of the best albums of the year” by the Guardian, on July 30, also on Parlour Door Music.

 

Warren has earned effusive and widespread praise in the press and among her peers:

 

"Formidable… one of the greatest living singers at the moment." -Rufus Wainwright

 

“Established talent” – T Magazine

 

"Krystle Warren: you should really give her a listen. You won't believe what you're hearing; she's amazing." - KD Lang

 

“****… remarkable… gloriously original.” – The Guardian

 

“Explosive… smoky voiced” – LA Times

 

“Impressive.” –Consequence of Sound

 

"Warren's voice is an extraordinary instrument, murmuring with tenderness at times, growling with intensity at others. It vividly recalls Nina Simone in its depth and smokiness, as well as John Martyn and [Jeff] Buckley in terms of virtuosic variety."  -The Guardian

 

Already in her career, she was handpicked by Joe Boyd to tour as part of Way To Blue, a stage tribute to Nick Drake. Born and raised in Kansas City, MO, she now lives with her partner in Paris, France; her time in Paris is tackled in “If Memory Serves Me Well.”

 

Jake La Botz clips

Inked Mag Facebook live session/interview (June 19, 2017)

WNYC Soundcheck performance/chat (June 16, 2017)

Krystle Warren photos

Click for high res

Above credit: Matthew Placek

Above credit: Jamison Kaye

Above credit: Alison Shurman

Above crdit: Manu Noyon

Above credit: Manu Noyon

Above credit: Matthew Placek

Above credit: Matthew Placek

Above credit: Matthew Placek

Album cover

“FASCINATING” (CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND) NEW BOOK I GOT A SONG: A HISTORY OF THE NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL OUT THIS MONTH ON WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PRESS AS FEST FAST APPROACHES

The first full-length history of the Newport Folk Festival, I Got A Song, is earning praise as its author Rick Massimo confirmed a presentation at the Newport fort on July 30. Here’s some of what we’re reading:

 

“In I Got a Song, which is out this week via Wesleyan University Press, Massimo juggles the decades of triumphs, struggles and personalities with aplomb, building a foundation on years of research and first-hand encounters as a longtime festival correspondent for the Providence Journal, and supplementing them with dozens of interviews with performers, fans and organizers.”

- Matthew Oshinsky, Paste Magazine, June 7, 2017

 

“Fascinating… [Massimo] tells a story that’s not just about one festival in the smallest state of the country, but about folk music as a whole.”

- Ben Kaye, Consequence of Sound, May 24, 2017

 

“A treasure trove.”

- Ken Abrams, No Depression, May 14, 2017

 

“Engaging and at times touching.”

- Christopher John Stephens, Pop Matters, April 17, 2017

 

"Filled with interviews."

- Neil Pond, Parade, June 5, 2017

 

“A peek behind the scenes.”

- Relix Magazine, June/July, 2017

 

“Compelling… details evolution, tradition, evolving tradition, and capturing a spirit through storytelling.”

- Fallon Masterson, Vanyaland, June 6, 2017

 

“Yes, this is a fantastic book for us, the music reviewer invested in the Newport Folk Festival. Yes, it will be fantastic for the music aficionado, as well… we came into ‘I Got A Song’ expecting a light beach read, and left with a heady brew of history and excitement in the country’s premier music festival.”

- Matt Keefer, Music Ravings, June 5, 2017

 

July 27 – Books On The Square – Providence, RI

July 30 – Newport Folk Festival – Newport, RI

August 2 - Narrows Center for the Arts - Fall River, MA

“STUNNING” (Q) AMERICANA TRIO APPLEWOOD ROAD PLOT US SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM JULY 14 AFTER UK ACCLAIM

“Barker is from Australia, Rubarth grew up in California and Speace is from Baltimore, but at times they can sound as if they spent their childhoods singing together around a family hearth in the Appalachians” – Richard Williams, The Blue Moment (UK)

Crosby, Stills & Nash; Simon & Garfunkel; The Everly Brothers; The Civil Wars; Gillian Welch & David Rawlings: some bands have voices that were just meant to sing together. Applewood Road is one of those bands.  

A chance meeting in an East Nashville cafe during AmericanaFest led to Amy Speace, Emily Barker, and Amber Rubarth writing the song “Applewood Road,” the nugget of which came from a dream that Rubarth had. The trio booked an immediate session to lay it down at the analogue studio Welcome To 1979.  Barker says, “We felt our voices blended naturally, and went away beaming with the joy of having created the song together.”

All three recognized the magic of that recording and plans were put in place to return to record a full-length album. Also entitled “Applewood Road,” the resulting thirteen-song set adds two bonus track for US release on Gearbox Records on July 14, 2017, including a stunning live cover of R.E.M.'s hit song "Losing My Religion." 

“Applewood Road” music video (OK to share): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8U9zlRzqaQ

The album is chock full of highlights and each songwriter contributed several songs, including a co-write between Rubarth and frequent Norah Jones collaborator Adam Levy on the beautiful “To the Stars.” Rubarth explores our innate draw to both the familiar and the unknown on “Old Time Country Song.” Barker wrote songs in northern Europe, Nashville, and her native Australia for the project, including “Bring the Car Round,” inspired by the wildfires Down Under. Speace’s lullaby to her niece and nephew took a dark, more mature turn on “Josephine.”

Each of the songwriters has their own distinguished solo career: Speace was personally signed by Judy Collins; an NPR critic said, "Her velvety achey voice recalls an early Lucinda Williams." Speace was personally discovered by folk icon Judy Collins who signed her to her own record label and recorded her songs;  she has been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered" and The New York Times writes “what Amy Speace says — what she sings — she says with a confluence of poetry and honesty, of emotional specificity." Many will know Barker’s music from the award-winning theme to PBS Masterpiece series “Wallander” starring Kenneth Branagh; her new album “Sweet Kind of Blue" was recorded in Memphis with Grammy-winning producer Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price). Rubarth has shared her songs from South Africa to Japan to Carnegie Hall, opening for legends like Emmylou Harris and Ralph Stanley; her new album 'Wildflowers in the Graveyard' releases early Autumn, followed by her acting debut starring in feature film “American Folk” (2018).

Here’s what UK press had to say about Applewood Road: 

“****… a stunning country showcase of three gorgeous but markedly different voices.” – Q

“Flawless set that has to be the most haunting release of the past year... Unfailingly seductive and wistful.” – Sunday Times

“*****… There’s a moreish magic to the harmonies of this country-folk trio that recalls the vintage appeal of the Everlys and the Andrews” – Telegraph

“Truly gorgeous…” – Maverick Magazine

“*****… full of style, allure and artistry… likely to be in my top five albums this year.” – R2

“****… Sometimes things just seem meant to be… honey-harmonied wonder… magic.” – Record Collector

The album was recorded live, direct to tape, at Welcome to 1979 studio in Nashville with the performers gathered around a single microphone. Alongside the three band members, the album features contributions from Aaron Lee Tasjan, Josh Day, Fats Kaplin, Jabe Beyer, and Telisha Williams. It was mastered at Gearbox Records with vintage analogue equipment.

Jake La Botz "How I Wish She Was Mine" music video