New Mix: Sevdaliza, Mabe Fratti, The Arcs, more
Upper left: The Arcs; Upper right: Eszter Balint; Bottom right: Billy Strings (R) with his father, Terry Barber; Bottom left: Mabe Fratti; Middle: Sevdaliza Courtesy of the artists hide caption
The Arcs are putting out their first album in eight years at the top of 2023; it's called Electrophonic Chronic. Dan Auerbach and company recorded this album with Richard Swift before his passing in 2018. On this edition of All Songs Considered, I'll play the opening track, "Keep On Dreamin'." It was chosen as the opener because one of the first things you hear is Richard Swift on drums, and the record is an homage to their great friend.
The Iranian/Dutch artist Sevdaliza has written a song for oppressed women worldwide, with a sharp eye on the unfolding protests in Iran. The song is called "Woman Life Freedom."
Billy Strings grew up learning and making music with his dad, Terry Barber. The music of Doc Watson, Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs were household names in this bluegrass family. Now at age 30, Billy Strings and his dad have made a record together called Me/And/Dad, and you'll hear the traditional bluegrass tune, "Long Journey Home."
Pearla's music is filled with imagination, as you might tell from just her titles alone. I'll play "The Place With No Weather," from her debut album Oh Glistening Onion, The Nighttime Is Coming. If you've ever seen the Jim Jarmusch film Stranger Than Paradise, Eszter Balint played Eva, the 16-year-old cousin that John Lurie's character was visiting. Eszter has a new album; her fourth is called I HATE MEMORY! that, in part, tells the journey of her family's move from communist Hungary to the art world of New York City in the 70s and 80s.
I'll end with music from the Guatemalan cellist and composer Mabe Fratti. Her new album Se Ve Desde Aquí is wildly creative and a sonic journey.