Based in Durham, the creative capital of North Carolina, banjo whiz and folk interpreter Joseph Decosimo has spent the majority of his musical career thus far collaborating with artists like Jake Xerxes Fussell, Elephant Micah and Hiss Golden Messenger. For his solo release, Joseph plays to his strengths, crafting a magical tapestry of old time songs and instrumentals with minimal but effective embellishments from a host of guest players.
The album starts with Fox Chase, an English hunting ballad that Joseph plays and sings alone, adding his fiddle, banjo and a beautiful haunting pump organ to clear but slightly plaintive vocals, each line ending softly, with a hint of melancholy. The organ emphasises this feeling but brings in more ominous notes, balanced by a seamless shift into The Lost Gander, a lovely instrumental miniature, with the pump organ working alongside picked banjo strings and harmonics. Will Davenport’s Tune is another instrumental, played on a nylon string (tackhead or minstrel) banjo, lending the notes a softer edge, and accompanied by Cleek Schrey’s organ and Matt O’Connell’s spooky percussion. This one immediately brings to mind players like Rhiannon Giddens’ solo banjo work and especially Nora Brown.
For Shady Grove, a traditional southern mountain song, the wonderfully evocative vocals of Alice Gerrard enter a backdrop of fiddle and dark pump organ before Gerrard’s banjo shifts the tune again, its spiky notes blending with the organ to bring plenty of the desired shade into the tune. Alice sings again on Apple Brandy, a much gentler and more innocent tune, with nylon string banjo adding warmth to a sweet song. Another brighter number is Clear Fork, a banjo instrumental that, for the first half, sees fiddler Stephanie Coleman’s notes played so softly they could be mistaken for a low pipe or flute.
There is so much to enjoy throughout this album, and when I heard it for the first time, I experienced a similar feeling to when I first heard Jake Xerxes Fussell’s music, one of my favourite artists. Joseph Decosimo’s sound has a haunting quality that lends the old songs he chooses to interpret a certain magic. Quite beautiful instrumentation from all involved combines with unpretentious vocals, giving these songs plenty of power. Seek out While you were Slumbering; it is a special record.
Order While You Were Slumbering via Bandcamp: https://josephdecosimo.bandcamp.com/album/while-you-were-slumbering
Several tracks from the album feature on Lost in Transmission No. 91: