Sir Richard Bishop has announced his new album, Hillbilly Ragas, set for release on September 26th via Drag City. Today, he shares the first single, the entrancing “They Shall Take Up Serpents,” accompanied by a new music video created by Bishop himself.
For decades, Sir Richard Bishop has been a formidable force in the world of experimental guitar music. From his foundational work with the Sun City Girls to his extensive and eclectic solo career, he has consistently defied categorisation, drawing from a global well of musical traditions to create something uniquely his own. His most recent offering, 2020’s Oneiric Formulary, continued this exploration of a “spirited polytheistic” approach to the guitar; described in these pages as “a roller-coaster of a success” and a “beautiful and brilliant riot of a record.”
Now, with Hillbilly Ragas, Bishop turns his gaze inwards, towards the heart of American folk traditions, only to shatter them and rebuild them in his own image.
The album finds Bishop engaging with the so-called “American Primitive” guitar style, a genre he approaches with both reverence and a healthy dose of scepticism. As he puts it, “I’ve always felt that the majority of what is considered to be American Primitive music, while certainly based on historical American musical traditions, never really had any sounds that I personally thought of as being primitive—it always seemed too orderly, too developed, and too safe. Way too safe. I found that playing with a sort of reckless abandon was the best way to remain outside of the usual musical language found in this genre of music, while still being able to establish itself within its framework, through determination and force if nothing else.”
In response, Bishop has crafted a collection of nine improvised solo acoustic guitar pieces that embrace a “reckless abandon.” The concept behind Hillbilly Ragas is that of a reclusive, undiscovered guitarist, hidden away in the backwoods, untouched by the stylistic expectations of the genre. “So what we have here with Hillbilly Ragas are nine improvised pieces for solo acoustic guitar, each one representing a different excursion into the dark woods—the untamed explorations of a musical loner, an outsider, maybe even an undesirable, embodying a peculiar folklore and turning it into sound—creating his own American folk music in the process,” Bishop explains.
He concludes with a typically defiant flourish: “He’s still out there, fueled by his supernatural surroundings and a fuck-all attitude!”
This ethos is on full display in the first single, “They Shall Take Up Serpents.” The track is a hypnotic and intricate instrumental that showcases Bishop’s virtuosic fingerpicking and his uncanny ability to weave together disparate musical threads into a cohesive and compelling whole. The accompanying video, a self-directed affair, offers a visual counterpart to the music’s raw and untamed spirit.
Hillbilly Ragas promises to be a thrilling and essential addition to Sir Richard Bishop’s already impressive discography, a testament to his relentless creative drive and his unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of what the guitar can do. For fans of adventurous and uncompromising music, September 26th can’t come soon enough.
Pre-Order Hillbilly Ragas
Sir Richard Bishop Tour Dates 2025
Aug. 30th @ Turn Turn Turn – Portland, OR, US
Sept. 23rd @ Union Pool (Record Release Show) – Brookyn, NY, US
Sept. 26th @ BelloBar – Dublin, IE
Oct. 7th @ The Cumberland Arms – Newcastle, UK
Oct. 9th @ Bishops’ House – Sheffield, UK
Oct. 11th @ Chats Palace – London, UK
Oct. 12th @ Chair De Poule – Paris, FR