Blackgrass is the name being given to a dark sub-genre of Bluegrass. It “creates an ominous cinematic soundscape that blends instrumental and storytelling influences from bluegrass traditions with virtuosic strings, alternative old world instrumentation and raw gritty vocalizations seeped in desperation and pain.” That’s the description given in the press release introducing Elouise Walker and her band who play under her name of ‘Elouise’. We’re guessing that most of you certainly won’t have heard a version of ‘Silent Night’ like this before:
Elouise releases her new album Deep Water in 2016 which, whilst steeped in the American Gothic, calls upon a rich and diverse mix of backgrounds from classical, rock, bluegrass and folk music. With a band made up of musicians who have played in symphonies, dabbled in theatre production and composed for television shows you can expect a strong cinematic leaning although it also maintains that feel of a music from an older world, one which was burdened by everyday hardships, something Elouise enhances with her wonderful weary drawl. For a taste of what’s to come Watch the video for the albums title track, Deep Water, below.
More soon.