As recently shared on Folk Radio the narratives for Gabriel Kahane’s new album Book of Travelers is based on tales told to him upon a long train journey – something I likened to a musical version of Robert Frank’s photobook The Americans.
Although the idea and concept may have been brewing for a while the trigger for this new project came with the 2016 presidential election results.
The morning after the 2016 presidential election, I packed a suitcase and boarded Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited bound for Chicago. Over the next thirteen days, I talked to dozens of strangers whom I met, primarily, in dining cars aboard the six trains that would carry me some 8,980 miles around the country. The songs on this album are intended as a kind of loose diary of that journey, and as a portrait of America at a time of profound national turbulence.
I’ve savoured these releases and the accompanying videos…with Baltimore, Jason is returning back home to pay his respects to an old friend who has died. At times it’s like you’re sat there with Kahane on the train maybe feeling a little guilty at someone sharing their deepest thoughts… “Why am I telling you this? Am I nervous to be going back?”
Whilst these songs can be powerful tales, they also serve as a reminder of our connection (or disconnection) to those around us. Kahane left behind his cell phone and other internet-connected devices to spend two weeks with dozens of strangers on this 8,980-mile journey. Without such distractions, it’s incredible what you observe and experience.
Book of Travelers, out August 24 on Nonesuch Records.
http://smarturl.it/bookoftravelers