Today sees the return of Blanco White with his second EP Colder Heavens via Yucatan Records. Blanco White started as the solo project of Londoner Josh Edwards in 2014. After studying guitar in Cádiz, Spain, and later the Andean instrument the charango in Sucre, Bolivia, Edwards’ aim was to begin bringing together elements of Andalusian and Latin American music alongside influences closer to home, turning them into something coherent, whole and personal.
The result is a sound which encompasses the emotive folk-tinged singer song-writing of artists such as Damien Rice, with White’s voice “emotionally raw and instantly captivating” (There Goes The Fear), infused with an exotic flair and experimentation, akin to a Latin American Beirut.
He kindly agreed to talk us through his latest EP which you can listen to in full below:
Track by Track: Blanco White – Colder Heavens
1. The rhythm running through Colder Heavens draws on certain elements of the Andean Tinku rhythm. It’s that consistent rhythm which is really the centrepiece of the track, played on the Latin American instrument the ronroco. I also wanted the lead melodies to have a call and response feel to them, something inspired by the same Andean musical tradition.
2. El Búho is more Spanish in character, taking inspiration from the flamenco ‘palo’ or style, ‘la bulería’. The narrative in the song explores the theme of blindness, something I wanted to write about after reading the very moving work of blind author Anthony Naumann.
3. The instrumentation in Outsider gives it a more European feel, and I wanted there to be lots of light and shade in this track. It’s a song with themes of belonging and division.
4. After writing the chord progression for Lie Alone, the rest of the song formed very quickly. As a progression, it relies on the unusual tuning of the ronroco, a tuning that I feel naturally leans towards more melancholic chords and sounds. Shaped by that sound, the song has a narrative of regret and desire.
Colder Heavens can be streamed on all major streaming services today. Click here for streaming links: http://smarturl.it/ColderHeavensEP
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