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Roots Culture Redefined

Posts Tagged ‘mexico’

Basic Folk: Susan Werner

The dynamic songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Susan Werner spoke to Basic Folk onboard the Cayamo cruise, which she describes as a “paid vacation.” Reflecting on her upbringing on a working farm, Susan discusses the hard work that shaped her, but also how she’s learning to embrace rest and relaxation. With humor and insight, she navigates the balance between a hardworking mindset and the need for downtime, revealing her strategies for managing stress and expectations in both life and music.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • AMAZON • MP3

Susan’s latest album, Halfway to Houston, is a continuation of her exploration of a place through its music. Previous releases found her examining New Orleans and Florida. In this particular case, she is focusing on the state of Texas, including the interconnectedness of communities across borders; the song “Sisters” is about twin sister cities El Paso, Texas, and Juárez, Mexico. As a seasoned artist, Susan dives into the importance of consistency and authenticity in her craft, emphasizing that hard work alone doesn’t guarantee success – it’s about being consistently excellent. She also touches on the political landscape and how her songs aim to foster empathy and understanding, even in divided times.

Photo Credit: Lead image by Bryan Lasky, alternate image by Will Byington.

STREAM: Secret Museum of Mankind – Atlas of Instruments: Fiddles Vol. 1

Album: Secret Museum of Mankind – Atlas of Instruments: Fiddles Vol. 1
Release Date: September 15, 2023
Label: Jalopy Records

In Their Words: “The museum’s musical atlas of instruments continues with the opening of another wing, the first in a series on bowed instruments. To stretch boundaries over the earth and over time is to forsake them; whether it is a matter of Synchronizität or just the plain unconscious. In Western cultural history, the bowed instrument is a late installment, after centuries, of an almost primordial vibration that we imagine in sound; see in the old paintings; and yet can sample in the remnants of the ancient world captured on gramophone records.” – Pat Conte, curator

“The Secret Museum series is legendary. It opened up new possibilities for me when I first heard it in the 1990s. The curator is Pat Conte, he did something remarkable, even more so because it was before the internet: Starting in the 1970s he began assembling the first and arguably greatest collection of world music recorded in the 78 rpm record era of the 1920s – 1950s, give or take. He did it by casing junk stores in Queens, New York, the most diverse place in the world, and by maintaining letter correspondence with collectors and dealers across the globe. That is the music you will find on the Secret Museum of Mankind albums.

“Conte programs the records by feel, not with a predefined structure. The records are not meant to be academic, they are meant to move the listener. The movement is emotional, using music that was recorded in different places and at different times. Each listener will experience the sequence in their own way, and each track is its own world.

“The Secret Museum of Mankind: Atlas of Instruments – Fiddles, Vol. 1 continues the series and presents fiddle sounds developed and practiced across the globe. The compilation, drawn from Conte’s pioneering and remarkable personal collection of 78 rpm discs recorded in the 1920s – 1950s, offers fiddle music recorded across the world from Crete to Madagascar, Mexico, England, Sicily, Norway, India, the USA, Cape Verde, China and more.” – Eli Smith, producer

Image courtesy of Jalopy Records, Nick Loss-Eaton Media

LISTEN: The Two Tracks, “Canyon Wren”

Artist: The Two Tracks
Hometown: Sheridan, Wyoming
Song: “Canyon Wren”
Album: It’s a Complicated Life
Release Date: August 25, 2023

In Their Words: “I started writing ‘Canyon Wren’ as a series of two poetic pieces inspired by pictures from our place in Baja, Mexico, one of which is the cover of the single. From our place there, the sun rises over distant mountains and shines right into the faces of breaking waves along the Pacific coast. You check the surf while the arroyos and hillsides buzz with the sound of birds. The canyon wren is one of those birds. Often there can be fog, or dew hanging in the air – an elusive hint of moisture in this otherwise dry place. We love the calm, quiet, empty feel of those mornings as the landscape wakes up and I tried to capture a bit of that scene, and our time spent down there. Julie and I love empty, wild places as much as we love the busy life of performing music. I was musically inspired by the laid back, chill vibes of early J.J. Cale records, which I’ve listened to a lot over the years while driving through Baja, and tried to channel that sound into this track.” – Dave Huebner

Photo Credit: Jenae Neeson

LISTEN: Deutsch & Thorn, “Scorpio Sun”

Artist: Deutsch & Thorn (Erik Deutsch and Andy Thorn)
Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico and Boulder, Colorado
Song: “Scorpio Sun”
Release Date: December 4, 2020
Label: Thornpipe Music

In Their Words: “When I first wrote this tune, I recorded it with the Colorado Playboys (Travis Book, Jon Stickley, and John Frazier), and called it ‘Sicks Ate.’ (We thought we were very clever.) Over a decade later, playing it with pianist Erik Deutsch, it took on a whole new life. As fellow Scorpios, Erik and I retitled it ‘Scorpio Sun.’ We recorded this EP in Erik’s beautiful Mexico City apartment, between playing shows at Zinco Jazz Club in the city’s vibrant Centro neighborhood. I never thought I’d bring my banjo to Mexico City, to mingle with Erik’s jazz influences and the sights and sounds of a dazzling culture. But that’s kind of what it’s like playing with Erik — you never know what might happen next.” — Andy Thorn

Photo credit: Josh Timmermans

LISTEN: Rachel Angel, “Bring Me Down”

Artist: Rachel Angel
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Song: “Bring Me Down”
Album: Highway Songs
Release Date: August 21, 2020
Label: Public Works

In Their Words: “‘Bring Me Down’ is a personal song about looking internally to find the inner strength to deal with life’s vagrancies. I wrote the song after extensive touring on the road. I was paranoid and feeling like an outcast as I adjusted to a slower pace back home. I isolated myself in my apartment, using music as a bulwark to shield me from the uneasiness I was feeling.

“The first song that I wrote for the EP was ‘Mexico.’ At the time, I was experiencing a lot of catastrophic anxiety and chronic health problems. I was mentally and physically all out of sorts. I embarked on a family trip to Mexico, and before I left began writing the song: ‘I had enough of that windy ocean road/But I packed up my car and I drove/and I drove.’ My feeling at the time was that something bad was going to happen but I couldn’t determine if it was anxiety or a premonition. Within the first week of being there, we experienced a 7.1 earthquake in Mexico City, many buildings around us fell, power lines down, power was lost throughout the city, everything closed. I was so frightened and immediately wanted to leave, but decided that pushing myself through the discomfort would ultimately make me stronger.

“I spent the remainder of the year touring different cities on the East Coast, in the UK, and traveling around for various events. I was listening to a lot of Outlaw country and the spirit of the music made me feel alive and brave. I wrote and recorded the content of Highway Songs during a breaking point and crisis period in my life, right before I made it out to the other side. I ultimately left New York City for Miami in need of great healing, and have since been on a spiritual journey. I am in pre-production on a new album that finds me in a grounded place and writing lots of songs!” — Rachel Angel

Photo credit: Yasser Marte

LISTEN: Mary Bragg, “Our Lady of the Well”

Artist: Mary Bragg
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Our Lady of the Well”
Album: Think About It EP
Release Date: March 6, 2020
Label: Mary Bragg Music/Tone Tree Music

In Their Words: “As a writer, one of the things that keeps me sane is that healthy part of the process which is to sometimes get out of your own head and away from your own stories. I’ve started looking for songs to learn that speak to me, and this one in particular, written by the great Jackson Browne, felt painfully timely, as it beautifully expresses some of the feelings I’ve been having about the world we live in, decades after it was written.

“I felt connected to the song after going to Mexico for the first time and experiencing the lovely people and culture there, where, just like in the States, ‘the families work the land as they have always done,’ and ‘your children will be born; you’ll watch them as they run.’ I decided to record it as a creative extension of my new album, Violets as Camouflage, with a similarly simple treatment, musically, with the focus on the story and the voice that’s telling it.” — Mary Bragg

Photo credit: Holly Lowman

LISTEN: Edan Archer, “Scenes from a Spanish Cantina”

Artist: Edan Archer
Hometown: Gainesville, Florida, generally nomadic though 🙂
Song: “Scenes from a Spanish Cantina”
Album: Journey Proud
Release Date: August 2, 2019

In Their Words: “This song was inspired by Miami, where I spent many years, both as a young child and later as an adult. The rhythm is a kind of samba and references the drum schools of Brazil where ‘all of the dancers come, and all of the little drums.’ It also contains imagery of fleeting love and celebrating — roses going for a dollar and a half, Valentine’s chocolates melting in the sun of a street market. The singer is warned not to go ‘running with the leader of the band,’ but when the drums play in the street, the dancers still come, and in the moment, it’s worth it.

“My grandmother was from Cuba and my mom also grew up in Spain, so I’ve always loved Latin music and felt a special connection with it. I do speak Spanish and sing in Spanish also. I learned traditional Cuban songs from my uncles and even sang Spanish songs at their funerals. I sang in the Brazilian ensemble in college and developed a love of Samba and big percussion. We also spent most summers in Mexico so mariachi and ranchero music are faves too. I loved being able to combine all my influences in this album, and that had to include something with a Latin vibe.” — Edan Archer

Photo credit: Gregg Roth

LISTEN: Radney Foster, ‘Howlin’

Artist: Radney Foster
Hometown: Del Rio, TX
Song: “Howlin'”
Album: For You to See the Stars
Release Date: September 15, 2017
Label: Devil’s River Records

In Their Words: “I grew on the Mexican border, in Del Rio, Texas. As a kid, I would stay up late listening to XERF — the Border Blaster — from Mexico. Wolfman Jack had already moved on by that time, but it’s where he made his mark. I wrote the song from the perspective of a kid in the ’60s, hearing this wild, crazy stuff for the first time.” — Radney Foster

3×3: Romantica on Matching Socks, History Lessons, and Louvin Brothers

Artist: Ben Kyle (of Romantica)
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Latest Album: Shadowlands
Personal Nicknames: Benny Boo, T-Dizzle, Danger Dave, Fabulous Fabbrini, Lovan Spoonful, Sister J.

If you were in a high school marching band, which instrument would you want to play?

The snare. It’s all about the groove.

Do your socks always match?

YES.

If you could have a superpower, what would you choose?

Healing.

What’s your go-to road food?

Chipotle. At least you know it’s GMO-free, the meats are almost reasonably raised, and you can’t beat that guac for healthy fat!

Who was the best teacher you ever had — and why?

Steve Duesterbeck. Ninth grade history. At least once a day he would say, “War is hell and people die.”

What’s your favorite TV show?

The Waltons

Boots or sneakers?

Sneakers. I used to be cool. Now I’m comfortable.

Which brothers do you prefer — Avett, Wood, Stanley, Comatose, or Louvin?

Louvin.

Canada or Mexico?

Love ’em both. If I had to choose … Mexico. My father-in-law has a ranch in the mountains outside Gaudalajara.

Photo credit: Nicole McCoy Photography

3×3: MAITA on Polar Bears, Perfect Empathy, and an Appetite for Reading

Artist: MAITA
Hometown: Portland, OR
Latest Album: Waterbearer
Personal Nicknames: Mango, Mia, my Japanese nickname was Machan.

 

If you could safely have any animal in the world as a pet, which would you choose?

A polar bear (emphasis on “safely”).

Do your socks always match?

Surprisingly, they do.

If you could have a superpower, what would you choose?

Perfect empathy — to never be able to fully understand another human being is an eternal struggle.

What’s your go-to road food?

Burritos.

Who was the best teacher you ever had — and why?

Ms. Mora in middle school, who fed my voracious reading appetite and whose classroom was a haven for artists and writers.

What’s your favorite city?

Kyoto is one of them — the mountains, the shrines, the old, and the flashy new overlaid on top of each other, and a river that cuts through the center. All my favorite cities have rivers.

Boots or sneakers?

Boots!

Which brothers do you prefer — Avett, Wood, Stanley, Comatose, or Louvin?

I’m going to have to go with Wood.

Canada or Mexico?

Both! I’ve barely scratched the surface of those two countries — I understand that I can’t base my opinion on Tijuana and Vancouver.