Recorded in New Orleans, Joey Burns’ and John Convertino’s sixth album is a truly wonderful and most enticing set of songs. We feel strongly that this is the most exciting and song-y CALEXICO record to date. There is no filler here (not that there ever was), just one amazingly strong song after the other. Stand-out tracks include Para, Splitter, Fortune Teller as well as The Vanishing Mind.
The feel of ALGIERS is recognisably classic CALEXICO, but their style has been revitalised and reborn through the experience of recording in the magical city of New Orleans. Their work has spoken of dusty deserts and the loners that inhabit them, mixing America’s country music heritage with that of a Latin persuasion. In other words, it isn’t obviously affiliated with the sounds that have made New Orleans one of the premiere tourist destinations in the US. The choice of New Orleans was largely down to long time collaborator/producer Craig Schumacher. “We were talking about wanting to go to Europe and record,” Burns says, “but we never get our stuff together in time to make plans that far in advance. So where do you go that is nearby and has a European feel? New Orleans.”
You might think that after the 22 years since they first met, six studio albums and a suitcase of tour CDs, collaborations with the likes of Victoria Williams, Iron & Wine, Willie Nelson, Roger McGuinn and Nancy Sinatra, and soundtrack work to boot, there wasn’t much more they could achieve. But you’d be wrong. New Orleans clearly inspired them to make an album that sees them stretch out more effortlessly than ever before. Yes, you can take the men out of CALEXICO, but you can’t take CALEXICO out of the men…
To celebrate the release of ALGIERS, we’re offering a special treat for you. Not only are we premiering the first song off the record “PARA” as a free download but also a be....... more
Po kilku latach przerwy Calexico przynosi nam nowy album. Tytuł "Algiers" nie nawiązuje wcale do tzw. arabskiej wiosny, tylko do dzielnicy w Nowym Orleanie, gdzie nagrywali tą płytę, szukając nowych inspiracji w tym kipiącym życiem i muzyką mieście. Sam Joey Burns tak mówi o Nowym Orleanie: "When I say New Orleans, you think...’what?’. Preservation Hall Band, Wynton Marsalis, Treme, Satchmo, Dr John, The Funky Butt, The Meters, Fats Domino, Boswell Sisters, Quintron, Trombone Shorty, Galactic, Harry Connick Jr, Brad Pitt, Daniel Lanois. And so do I.
But when you are there, on Algiers Point or on the river or standing outside the chain link fence at Congo Square, you go back across the water to Haiti, Cuba, Africa. Some strange circles down there resurface."
Czy nowa płyta Calexico brzmi więc jak Dr. John? Oczywiście, że nie! Zamiana zimnej pustyni Arizony na przytłaczającą duchotę Nowego Orleanu nie doprowadziła do dramatycznej zmiany kursu muzycznego toru Jogna Convertino i Joey'a Burnsa. Ale ta zmiana otoczenia była, jak sam Convertino przyznaje, konieczna:
"I remember the first day Joey and I got together in our little studio to start, it was a cold, cold morning in Tucson, and we both played about two notes each and got the hell out of there." A Burns dodaje: "I was looking for a renewal of energy and to wake up in a different environment in New Orleans. I didn't have too many expectations, but was hoping we could tap into a creative vibe and find that balance of our striving for newness and remaining true to our aesthetics. Working out of town not only opens up the musical palate, but gives you a perspective of the emotional landscape back home.Dzięki Nowemu Orleanowi muzyka Calexico zyskała w niektórych utwórach nowe akcenty: dziekie rhythm'n'bluesowe eskplozje i jazzowe dęciaki, pozostała jednak wierna pewnym założeniom, które zostały zdefiniowane już na "The Black Light" w 1998 roku. Otrzymujemy 12 kapitalnych....... more