Some of you may recall that we interviewed musician and folklorist Derek Piotr in January (read it here) following the release of the Last Wisps of the Old Ways: North Carolina Mountain Singing; an incredible album of field recordings featuring mountain songs from North Carolina that crossed nearly a century; the star of which was Mrs Lena Bare Turbyfill, who “could have been another Texas Gladden in her own right”.
In May, he released, The Devil Knows How, on which he interprets traditional ballads and folk tunes culled primarily from the repertoire of his honorary new family (Lena Bare Turbyfill and her kin). Derek has now expanded on that album with a rework of the opening track “‘Yes, They All Sing’”, helmed by guitarist and Alan Lomax Archive curator Nathan Salsburg.
“‘Yes, They All Sing’” features the speaking voice of folk singer Lena Bare Turbyfill, whom Dr Herbert Halpert recorded for the WPA in 1939 at Elk Park, North Carolina. Salsburg’s slight guitar figures juxtapose with the noise floor of the recordings in an arrangement reminiscent of Salsburg’s Landwerk project.
Mixing was handled by Scott Solter (The Moutain Goats, St. Vincent). This collaboration is available digitally and on 12”, strictly limited to ten copies.’
The track will be released on 12th August; you can pre-order it here: https://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/