It’s almost a year ago now that we premiered the ‘Beat your Head with Glorious Songs‘ by Raoul Eden, a French solo guitarist in the American primitive tradition. Raoul is deeply influenced by oriental music, Indian râga and classical lyricism, but his music is still very rooted in dark primitive psychedelic blues, inspired by the music of John Fahey, Jack Rose, Robbie Basho, Steffen Basho Junghans, Daniel Bachman, Chuck Johnson, and Nick Jonah Davis.
Ahead of his European tour from January 18th to February 12th, details of which are below, we have the pleasure of sharing a new live session of Raoul performing Rien ne me Protège du Frottement des Astres. The track features on his forthcoming limited edition cassette titled Anima, which will be released on 15th February via the highly respected Scissor Tail Records. It is available to pre-order now via Bandcamp.
Raoul also has a new album out on 31st Match titled Incarnation (vinyl/cd), on which he gives voice to 6 and 12-string guitars, lap steel, dobro, guembri and modular drones.
As previously shared on Folk Radio:
Raoul started playing acoustic guitar in the psychedelic folk duo An Eagle In Your Mind with Sophia Djebel Rose; he discovered the American primitive style through ‘the brutal style’ of Daniel Bachman and, later, Jack Rose. Their music has clearly had a profound effect on his playing, so transformative that he relates it to a ‘blast or thunder from the sky’ that leaves you deaf afterwards.
Leaving behind strumming, he began playing fingerstyle guitar. Coming from the old European continent, Raoul Eden has singular influences, which he puts down to the crossroad position of his roots – between the eastern and western world, north and south. Arabic music has always been present around him; he is fond of Gnawa music and plays guembri (a Gnawa bass lute also known as a sintir, gimbri or hejhouj) in his spare time.
He has also modified his Guild D55 with an extra fret that allows him to play microtonal embellishments like in Tuareg blues or Turkish saz. A lot of western classical music was played in the house where he grew up, and that could be another hidden influence in his style, that lyrical flow.
Raoul Eden Tour Dates
supporting Sophia Djebel Rose
18.01 MILANO IT @Iscian
19.01 TREVISO IT @Uglydogs
20.01 WIEN AT @VEKKS
21.01 TELC CZ @Old Cemetery
22.01 BRNO CZ @Gallery Pomezik
24.01 NOVI MAROF HR @Stara Skola
25.01 BUDAPEST HU @A38
26.01 LIPTOVSKY MIKULAS SK @Diera Do Sveta
27.01 MISKOLC HU @Tinta Social
30.01 SZEGED HU @Grand Café
01.02 HAMBURG DE @Centro Social
09.02 PRAGUE CZ @Punctum
12.02 EUPEN BE @Meakusma