![]() How did that go? “Yes, that was a wonderful trip. The release comes out on the back of a short UK tour where MacKay played in Walker’s band whilst also doing a solo stint at the start of the evening. A wild thing! It looked like this mad mixture of a spider, a beetle, and a bee.” Walker adds, “To me it sounds playful and I always like the idea of putting nature and beasts into words on paper”. So what is the origin of that strange title Bill? “Well, I was walking around Pittsburgh one day in a fairly green area and came upon this fantastical insect. Some folks who’ve heard it pre-release swear it’s a trusty companion on long drives.” Get a window seat on the train, and dig in. So, I think you’ve got a good handle on it there. There’s also a cinematic feel to the album as a whole and MacKay agrees “I think of a lot of the music that I dig, and that I write, as being filmic. Walker grins, “Either coming up or coming down is my preferred experience. I like the idea of the record being background music as well put it on while you make somebody special some fried eggs, you know” Shindig! asked what makes for the ideal listening environment. ‘I Heard Them Singing’ for instance features a Requinto guitar which, says Mackay, “Has special timbres that mix so interestingly with other strings” and gives it a Spanish/Portuguese flavour. Initial listening brings to mind the searching quality of primitive guitar (John Fahey being its greatest exponent) with the interplay of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn and there’s a breadth of differing international influences that flit across the songs. Definitely a fine choice as I think it expands the music into other universes very well.” MacKay concurs “I agree, Ryan (Jewell, Tabla) and Katinka (Kleijn, Cello) brought those songs into another space that widens the entire record.” “The idea of collaborating with our peers came upon us right before hitting the studio. “The tunes all began as guitar songs” says Walker. A honed, deliberate affair that features mellifluous playing that makes subtle use of some long-standing friends and collaborators. ![]() BILL MACKAY & RYLELY WALKER return with new colloborative album SpiderBeetleBee. MARC LE BRETON asks the duo about the creative process.įollowing their previous collaboration (2016’s Land Of Plenty) which comprised of live tracks assembled from a residency in Chicago, Bill MacKay and Ryley Walker’s second album SpiderBeetleBee is a more focused studio-based outing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |