Robbie Basho archives

Yair Yona - World Behind Curtains

It usually takes me a couple times to process a new collection of music.  I like to let it sit on the aural palate for a bit to get a handle on it.  Yair Yona's sophomore effort, World Behind Curtains is no different.  My emerging feeling was that this was a movie soundtrack.  But after a listen or two that didn't seem quite right.  Sure, it's cinematic, sweeping and gorgeous.  But there's more.

The opening track was speaking to me like an overture of life.  It sounds like a journey.  And the opening piece struck me as a composite of life, everything is humming along nicely and suddenly reality comes barging in.  No matter, Yona keeps pickin' and grinin' because like all of us, what choice do we have?

As I continued to listen to this effort I couldn't help but feel that each piece was emblematic of the stages of life we all go through.  A fascinating journey populated by Yona's unique and inventive arrangement of instruments ranging from string quartets to bouzouki to electric guitar.  And all of this nicely anchored by his influences.

Yona likes to get his heroes, his influences, all right out in the open.  His first release had a song paying tribute to John Fahey.  In this release Glenn Jones and Leo Kottke both get mentions in song titles.

This release is no surprise when you listen to Skinny Fists and Russian Dance form his first release, Remember. Should have seen this coming.  But who knew he would be so fantastically good at it?

Everyone interested in the American Primitive genre needs to sit up and take notice of this release.  This is a beautiful effort and frankly there is nothing primitive about it.  The music is mature, confident and, thankfully as fresh as anything in the realm of this style to be found out there!

World Behind Curtains hits the streets Feb. 14th.

Pre-order now, also listen to streaming...oh and limited edition vinyl!

Strange Attractors Audio House

Yair Yona

Yair Yona - New Release Coming Soon

Yair Yona is set to release his latest effort "World Behind Curtains," Feb. 14th for Strange Attractors Audio House.

Go to Yona's site for a free download of the new single!

In case you aren't familiar with Yair Yona you should know that he is very prolific and always has plenty of music out there for the listening.  Below is a small sample to get you by till the release date of the new CD/LP/MP3.  Oh yes...vinyl!

La Feira De Sevilla by Yair_Yona

Poetry Night In Valhalla by Yair_Yona

Also, if you haven't downloaded this authorized live bootleg, you can get it HERE.

   

We Are All One, In The Sun - Basho Tribute on Vinyl

You all know this out on vinyl, right?

ALT.VINYL

IMPORTANT RECORDS

Great release curated by Buck Curran with appearances by Meg Biard, Cian Nugent, Steffan Basho-Junghans, Glenn Jones, Yair Yona and more.

Delta-Slider review here

Acoustic Guitar Magazine Best of 2010

TRACK LISTING
1. Steffen Basho-Junghans - Rolling Thunder Variation II
2. Helena Espvall - Travessa Do Cabral
3. Meg Baird - Moving Up A Ways
4. Glenn Jones - 1337 Shatuck Avenue, Apartment D
5. Arborea - Blue Crystal Fire
6. Cian Nugent - Odour Of Plums
7. Rahim AlHaj - Baghdad Athania
8. Fern Night - Song For The Queen
9. Steffen Basho-Junghans - Rocky Mountain Variations

 

Glenn Jones & Yair Yona on WFMU

Click the link to listen to the show:  Playlist for Irene Trudel - September 5, 2011


Live performance and conversation with Glenn Jones and Yair Yona

For his latest album, "The Wanting," guitarist Glenn Jones recorded in a fourth floor apartment on Commonwealth Avenue, Allston, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, overlooking the commuter train line. If you listen carefully to the record, you can occasionally hear trains going by in the background. In addition to playing with the band Cul de Sac, this solo disc is Jones' first album for Thrill Jockey, overflowing with nods to the "American Primitive" guitar style popularized by John Fahey. Glenn is joined by Israeli-born fingerstyle guitarist Yair Yona. Starting out as a bassist, Yona played stints in several London bands including Human Beings, then discovered the music of Bert Jansch and followed that musical path. Yair has one album out, "Remember," recently reissued on Strange Attractors and puts out a fine musical blog called "Small Town Romance." Yair Yona was in the NYC area for a rare visit over the Labor Day weekend, and Irene recorded a live set and a lively conversation with the two of them.

Yair Yona - Official Bootleg #2

The second Official Bootleg release, features some tunes from the upcoming second album along with some old tunes and covers of Bert Jansch and John Fahey.

Recorded in Tel Aviv, October 20th 2010

released 15 November 2010


BUY Yair Yona from EMUSIC      

Yair Yona - Official Bootleg #1

Yair Yona has released "Official Bootleg #1" on his BandCamp page and I for one, am delighted that he is indicating that it will be the first of more to come.  Two reasons; I get to hear some of his material from the "Remember" release in a solo setting and I get to hear him live.  A nice bonus since I'm not travelling to Israel anytime soon!  Here's the official description.

"Official Bootleg is a set of recorded live shows that is given for a free download. You can also purchase it for any price you think is right"

This is a solid eight cut performance with four cuts from the afore mentioned "Remember" release and four other songs that make this set very desirable for a Yona fan.  First there is the excellent performance of "It's Not The Heat (It's The Humidity)" that I believe is slated for the second release.  In addition there is a 12-string nod to Glenn Jones and the alternately frantic and sweet "Mad About You" and rounding out the set is a lovely version of the classic Angie.

Visit Yair Yona's BandCamp page.  You won't regret it.

Did I mention it's free?

BUY Yair Yona from EMUSIC

Yair Yona - Remember

“Originally issued in 2009 on Anova, Remember received rave rumblings from the grassroots steel string blogs and fan sites, finding its way into the circle of steel-string heads. Reissued via our Resurrection Series…” So says the one page on Strange Attractors Audio House…I like to think I’m one of those blogs. I got in on the ground floor with this release, waaaaay back in the old days when Yona was actually giving this away. Know what? I bought it anyway. My post was a bit late and despite being captivated immediately by the music, I didn’t give it much of a review.

Time for a proper review. Not sure what the current releases include but the copy I received from the other side of the world has plenty of liner notes with tunings, inspiration and even a note on the composition where Yona dared declare to himself and the world that he is ‘only’ a guitar player (rather than a singer/songwriter). 

The CD as a whole is impressive on many levels. It’s an incredibly strong work for a debut. All the compositions are original and Yona lays down a great mix of solo acoustic work (on 6 and 12 strings and slide too) and modern, multi-instrumental pieces. And as I mentioned the first time I posted about this…the production is really top-notch.

Remember is the opening tune and you might wonder for a moment if you really have a Takoma influenced work playing or…what? And then the Weissenborn kicks in. Nice piece with just a hint of synth.

Pharaoh is a slide tune that I liked the minute it started with a low, growling slide full of muscle. It quickly transforms into a brisk-paced piece that is going well just before the two minute mark. Suddenly it’s teetering on the ridiculous until he plays the perfect conclusion to that dangerously ridiculous phrase. Frankly I still remember the first time I heard the song and I thought, oh he’s done it now, no way out of this! But he makes it work so well and this is still a favorite of mine.

Russian Dance just grabs me right away with the rock solid thumb. A rather daring piece when it comes to cranky guys like me. You start throwing in too many instruments and drowning out the guitar and I’m probably done with you. However, Yona does it right on this one with accordion, banjo and mandolin all chiming in on this rollicking song. It works on every level for me, the mess of all the instruments vying for attention as the piece builds and the tight playing by Yona, especially coming out of the crescendo is perhaps one of the aspects that make this piece work so well.

Strange Attractors Audio House is also offering this tune as a free mp3: Brave Walls
Speaking of free goodies, I highly suggest you sign up for Yona's newsletters as they usually include some alt. mix, demo or work in progress. 

In addition there are some bluesy tunes Broken Rockin’ Chair and Struggled So Hard (with some well placed electric guitar) with the occasional (and welcome) clack of the slide on the guitar.

We get a little more synth on Are You Smarter than a 35 Year Old TV Host? And then unabashed tributes to John Fahey on Floodgate Opens to Allow a Ship to Come Through (As it Carries the Passenger Fahey on It) and Jack Rose with Sympathy for the Jack.

The CD wraps with Skinny Fists, an ambitious, symphonic piece, and again one that dares me to turn it off.  But I didn't and I don't think you will either.  For one thing he places the piece correctly in the tracking. Pieces that veer outside the ‘feel’ of a CD can often ruin the listening, especially the first impression when most of us listen from beginning to end. An adventurous piece is often well placed as a closer. If your fans made it that far you’ve likely reeled them in for your experimental trip, turns out it’s the perfect conclusion piece.

Keep in mind that SAAH is offering a limited pressing of vinyl as well for you old-timers/youngsters that are (re)starting your record collection. Still a CD guy like me? Cool, either way, buy it! He’s already working on the next release.

Remember, the Album

Strange Attractors Audio House

BUY Yair Yona from EMUSIC

We Are All One, In The Sun: A Tribute To Robbie Basho

I often hear people criticize tribute compilations though I’m never sure why, I like them and often seek them out and here’s why. If there is an artist out there that loves Robbie Basho and considers him an important influence and in fact important enough to interpret or re-interpret Basho’s music…I want to know who these people are!

Often these tributes are several artists and it is a great opportunity to find new artists that listen to and value what I listen to and value. What better way to discover like-minded musicians?

We Are All One, In The Sun: A Tribute To Robbie Basho is just such an opportunity.

Buck Curran deserves a lot of credit for assembling a tribute that is much more than just a collection of cover songs. It’s more adventurous and daring than that kind of tribute. And why shouldn’t it be? Isn’t that the spirit of Robbie Basho? These collections serve many a purpose, not the least of which is the obvious, a tribute. But what good is it if it doesn’t bring the fans of Basho to appreciate new artists? And just as importantly are the fans of any of the participating artist’s in this effort: it’s an opportunity to discover the roots of their music. I have found so much good music when I begin to discover my favorite artist’s influences. And a tribute collection puts it right there for all to see and every single artist is an opportunity to head off in a new direction!

So let’s dive in, one of the things I noticed first is that all the vocal covers are by women. And that may be a good thing for the budding Basho fan. Basho’s vocals were…unique…shall we say? The women convey the intensity and passion of a Basho song without raising the eyebrows, a common occurrence when Basho sang.

The covers by Arborea and Meg Baird are both pretty straight forward interpretations of Basho’s compositions while Fern Knight begins to stretch out with multiple instruments on "Song for the Queen."

Arborea, with Buck Curran on guitar and Shanti Curran providing the vocals, slow down Basho’s “Blue Crystal Fire” just a bit.  Buck Curran adds a very tasty slide solo in place of Basho’s fingered break and Shanti Curran’s vocals are delicate and beautiful.

Meg Baird takes on “Moving Up A Ways” keeping it pretty straight, though chooses a 6 string instead of the 12 string that Basho played for this piece.  As is the case with the previous song, Baird’s vocals seem a perfect fit for Basho’s song, strikingly lyrical.

Fern Knight expands on Basho’s “Song for a Queen” with multiple instruments that create a landscape around the lyrics of the song throwing in everything from the harp to the strangled distortion of an electric guitar.

Ultimately, all the vocal pieces take the listener on a journey to a beautiful and mythical land where you are temporarily lost in the music.

Undoubtedly all the artists are to be commended for capturing the spirit and feel of Robbie Basho. Some took the route of loosely interpreting existing Basho works and others went the straight ahead route. Still others took merely an idea or a line from a lyric as a launching point. Case in point is Cian Nugent’s "Odour of Plums." For a guy like me that likes the more straight ahead approach to guitar playing I love this piece by Nugent. He very nicely interjects tension and mystery that captures the spirit of a Basho song.

Curran manages to mix a little of everything into the release with the obvious (and obviously necessary) inclusion of Steffan Basho-Junghans and Glenn Jones as well as the unanticipated. Unanticipated? How about oud player Rahim AlHaj and cellist Helena Espvall?

Rahim AlHaj was included to touch on Basho’s intense love of Persian music. And don’t think for a minute that Espvall’s work is your average cello piece.

Digital version songs include Joseba Irazoki "Bashorentzat," Cameron Deas "Waters of Kvaloya" and an alternate version of Yair Yona’s Skinny Fists.

Deas' work on the 12 string is not to be missed by any fan of intense, raw and powerful solo guitar work.

Yair Yona is one of the new torch-bearers of modern American Primitive.

Delta-Slider’s Tops of the Decade

Hey, you aren’t a real blog if you don’t do a Top Ten list, Best of the Decade or some other sort of list that says, “I know something you don’t…”

Well I don’t know shit, but here it goes anyway…

in no particular order:

Bob Brozman is usually all over the place, and that's fine, but I generally like his blues work the best. And this one is a beauty! You can get a run-down of each song on Blues Reflex at his website. I love to read where the song is from, what the artist was trying to do or how they got an idea. This isn't your usual blues playing and Brozman smacking, tapping and beating on the guitar is a bonus! Get it!

Yair Yona is up next, going in a completely different direction.  See my short review of this one here, posted just recently. 

Glenn Jones' three releases have all been great and after much waffling I pretty much picked this one at random.  They are all very good efforts.  But I do have one criticism of Glenn, dude, post your touring schedule somewhere, I just missed you recently and I'm very sad.

Ah, Sean Smith.  This was one of the first modern American Primitive releases that I stumbled across.  Though his second effort is arguably more intricate and his composition abilities made a huge leap, this one is a favorite of mine, perhaps just because of how blown away the first time I heard it.  You can find him HERE

Jack Rose was a monster when it came to releasing stuff and I decided that one of the rules I was going to have for this list was only one effort per artist would be listed. When I got to Rose, that rule made things difficult. But I decided to go with Kensington Blues.  It's got a little of everything, slide, 12 string, 6 string, raga and rag influences and a Fahey cover.  Be sure to check out VHF Records, Thrill Jockey and Three Lobed Records for releases.

I came across Andrew Stranglen either on the Fahey board or MySpace...or maybe it was CD Baby...I don't recall, but I'm glad I did.  This little gem is about as far as I go when it comes to experimental music.  I know, I know, maybe I need to try harder.  But nonetheless this one works for me.  Love it!

Ok, Cam Deas.  Here's a guy I found clicking around on MySpace again.  He gets the comparisons to James Blackshaw, and he does play 12 string, but Deas is much rawer, something I like.  This release WAS available here but he has since re-released it so you'll have to go to his site to get it.  Go HERE to read the review.

Careening back into the realm of blues: Felonius Smith is a local here in Colorado and I have the good fortune to see a lot of good live music from these guys. Get the CD Hoolay Moolay.  This is blues with an old-timey and fun feel to it.  But don't let that fool you, there's some great chops on this one.  Felonius studied with Bob Brozman before moving to Colorado.

John Hammond has really come though on this one. This is strictly solo guitar and harmonica along with some stomping and grunting. Hammond is an amazing act to catch live and this is almost as good.

Pat O’Connell was featured here on Delta-Slider back in June of 2009 when I wrote a review of his forth-coming release of On the Sunny Side of Ashland, also available at Amazon.

Mike Fekete was featured here in August of 2009 as a prelude to a successful tour. Mike is planning on re-releasing some of his earlier work this year. You can get his CD Yellow and Red on Amazon or CDbaby.

Mike Fekete and Pat O’Connell have something in common, besides being great guitarists. They, along with Aaron Sheppard are expected to be on the next release of Tompkins Square’s Imaginational Anthem Vol. 4. Yeah, freakin’ awesome, eh? In addition, Sheppard is going to be on volume two of Berkeley Guitar. Volume one of Berkeley Guitar gets an honorable mention in the Delta-Slider list.

Nick Schillace’s first solo CD, Box Canyon was fantastic, but he upped the ante with the second: Landscape and People.  You can also get his stuff at CD Baby

Next we have C. Joynes’ Anglo-Naïve and Contemporary Parlour Guitar Vol. 1.  The title is a bit much but the music is much simpler. I love the feel of the recording. I think this is a home recording and it has a great feel to it. The songs are simple and beautiful. Joynes has a real talent for playing songs in an unhurried way. It’s a real hard thing to do, most people try to play everything as fast as possible. Whenever I try to play slow it just sounds boring…and slow.  This is out of print so d/l it at the link above.  Don't miss this one.  Also, Joynes has been busy as of late and you can get a couple more releases on Amazon or at the label, Bo'Weavil Recordings.

Next is Ragtime Ralph’s Vol. 4 release, click on the lick to d/l it!!
Ragtime Ralph and his nom de plume Blind Brand X have been VERY popular downloads here on Delta-Slider. All of his stuff is here on Delta-Slider and it's all free.  And it's all good.  Just give him a listen, you’ll understand!

Mark Lemhouse plays the blues, damnit!  This release, Big Lonesome Radio is amazing.  No, I don’t have a free download for ya. Here’s the deal, this came out in 2002 and since then Lemhouse has been spiraling into insanity, an insanity catalyzed by banjo playing. It’s said that he wanders aimlessly around the Northwest. And when he isn’t plunking his Banjo, he’s cuddled up to it asleep…dreaming of plunking it. Nonetheless, he does stop by Yellow Dog Records once in a while to pick up a royalty check.  Won’t you buy a copy of Big Lonesome Radio?

Pat Donohue's latest is Freeway Man.  This is one of the best Donohue has put out in years. His choice of music is unique and he arranges them nicely as well. He’s got a thumb and an attack that is just so solid.

This was really off the top of my head hard and took a lot of time!   I was going to do an honorable mentions section but I think I will just save that for a later post skip it.

I’m sure I forgot some great music. What do you think I should have included?

What do you think of what I DID include?

How is it possible that I didn’t include a single Radiohead release?

Yair Yona - Remember

Yair Yona has released a nice little gem into the American Primitive world and he titled it Remember. I'm not quite sure how I came across this release and it has been out there for a while but if you aren't aware of it, read on!

Ah, forget the reading...listen!

This CD is not strictly solo guitar but is very focused on the acoustic guitar. There is a mix of solo and multi-instrumentals. The production is excellent.
Yona gives this music away! Free. has hit the big time but the digital d/l is still quite reasonable. $5.00!! for Mp3, flac, just go to http://yairyona.bandcamp.com/ to get it. Now, you may think there is a catch, you've got to give up your email. Well I downloaded this months ago and as promised, I've received one or less email per month. And all of them quite useful, I might add, some links to YouTube videos and even some unreleased takes from Remember.

To learn more about Yona you can read some of his thoughts here.

And there is an excellent blog out there called Work & Worry with an interview of Yona, you can find that HERE

Yona of course has a MySpace

And a nice blog called Small Town Romance

And finally, if you would like to buy the CD you can do so by following the links below. I did and in addition to the fine music Yona has added one of my favorite facets of a solo guitar release: he listed every tuning and took the time to write some thoughts on each piece.

AnovaMusic is Yona's label that I believe he runs himself.

Strange Attractors Audio House
CD Baby