Rachel Baiman has shared her new video for Self Made Man, taken from her new album “Common Nation of Sorrow”, available March 31 on Signature Sounds Recordings. The song is a re-write of John Hartford’s “Self Made Man”, on which she adds the lines “Will you tell him that he’s done everything right and that he could never take the blame/ for the people cast out and trampled on, just because they got in his way?”.
Rachel shared that “the video was made by Bard Media with the support of The Heist Artist Residency Program – my gratitude to them for providing the space (both physical and mental) for this madness to occur.”
Produced by Baiman, mixed by Tucker Martine (Neko Case, The Decemberists, First Aid Kit) and recorded at The Tractor Shed outside of Nashville, Common Nation of Sorrow offers an assessment of the country’s current state, telling stories of American capitalism and the individual and communal devastation it manifests. Across the record’s ten tracks, Baiman highlights these shared experiences with the hope they will become a tool for activism. “My generation has had to wake up to the intensity of our own economic oppression,” Baiman reflects. “The reality is that the vast majority of us are being taken advantage of by the same brutal economic and political systems. Maybe that shared oppression is a place in which we can meet and fight back.
In addition to Baiman, Common Nation of Sorrow also features Riley Calcagno (acoustic guitar, banjo), Miles Miller (drums – Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers), Josh Oliver (acoustic guitar, electric guitar- Watchhouse), Ashleigh Caudill (bass), Adam Chaffins (bass), Anthony De Costa (acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Lauren Horbal (drums), and Tristan Scroggins (mandolin), and was recorded by GRAMMY Award-winning engineer Sean Sullivan, known for his work with Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers.
Pre-order the album here: http://www.rachelbaiman.com/commonnationofsorrow
Rachel is embarking on an extensive tour of the UK and US this spring; details can be found here.
