Chatham Rabbits: Old Souls (podcast) Interviews Music Features Podcast by Ken Templeton - June 15, 20220 Sarah McCombie describes herself and her husband, Austin, as “old souls.” They like old things, old people, and old songs. It’s no surprise then, that many of the songs on their new album, If You See Me Riding By, feel timeless. This record has kept me good company this spring, and it’s exciting that as of June 3, it’s out in the world for everyone to hear. We had a wonderful chat a couple of months back as Sarah and Austin braved the New Jersey Turnpike on a spring tour. Take a listen and check out the new record!
A New Shine: Maya de Vitry’s “Violet Light” (podcast) Music Features Podcast by Brian Carroll - March 1, 20220 For episode 5 of season 2 we catch up with Maya de Vitry. I first came across Maya in her time with The Stray Birds. They were playing a midday concert series put on by Berklee and I strolled over to eat my lunch and catch a tune or two. I ended up sticking around for the entire set. The band was excellent, but there was something that just stuck with me about Maya's voice. She has a tone and timbre that is purely her. No one else sounds like Maya. Its undeniably unique and intriguing. Maya recently released a brand new record titled "Violet Light". Its a beautifully collaborative collection of songs recorded during the pandemic. Two things that usually
Aoife O’Donovan: Show Me The Heart on Your Sleeve (podcast) Music Features Podcast by Ken Templeton - February 4, 20220 Aoife O’Donovan’s new record Age Of Apathy came out on January 21, and it is sure to be one of the great records of 2022. I have already spun these songs so many times that they’ve become good neighbors in this new year. One of the things I love about this record is the songs shift as they need to–Aoife isn’t afraid to follow the emotional quality of her songs into territories that break some patterns and find new ground. It’s the type of experience that, when the last song, “Passengers,” ends, you can’t wait to hear the first song, “Sister Starling,” again. This record bears repeated listening extremely well, no skips. It was such a pleasure to talk with Aoife
Forecast: Sunny Skies Ahead – John Mailander (Podcast) Music Features Podcast by Brian Carroll - January 21, 20220 I thought this audio was forever lost in the process of getting a new computer last year, but the magic of perusing old external hard drives grants us a special conversation (in audible format) with a special guest. The conversation was previously posted as a written article. You could go an entire lifetime and never come across another artist like John Mailander. His musical voice resting on the precipice where beauty meets power. His even temperament balancing the sheer virtuosity that lays beneath his finger tips, riddled with character, grace and soul. The robust palette that he paints his sonic landscapes with is vast. Deep and pulling shades of blues and greys mingling with brilliant gold and saffron, covering the full breadth
Scott Hirsch: Love is Long (podcast) Music Features Podcast by Ken Templeton - January 5, 20220 As we head into a very tenuous 2022, maybe it will help you to know about a great album that was released in 2021! Scott Hirsch’s Windless Day is a fantastic record for stepping outside yourself a little bit. As Scott talks about in this episode of the Red Line Roots podcast, he thinks deeply about the songs on his records in relationship to each other, to create a coherent experience. In an era of singles and streaming, Scott prefers to think about how the album will be on vinyl–not as a vinyl snob, but as a creative expression of how to invite listeners in, how to take them someplace over the course of sides A and B. I loved getting to chat
Joe Troop: Making Mistakes (podcast) Interviews Music Features Podcast by Ken Templeton - December 2, 2021December 2, 20210 When Joe Troop talks about cancel culture, he isn’t just talking about the right wing folks who don’t want any books in school about gay people or racism. He’s also thinking about the people more committed to saying the right words about issues than they are about taking the right actions. It’s complicated--I know he’d be the first to say that what you say matters, and we should be accountable for what we say and do. And, at the same time, there can be this version of equity work that is much more about posturing than it is about changing things. I have seen other white people do this in spaces for racial equity--trying to prove that they’re the best white
Alisa Amador: Right Again (podcast) Interviews Music Features Podcast by Ken Templeton - November 25, 20210 This has to be one of my favorite conversations that I have been lucky enough to have as part of this podcast. Alisa Amador is an amazing musician and shares so much insight into her work on this episode. Red Line Roots was founded as part of the Boston music community, and Alisa has quickly become one of the most important voices in the Boston roots/folk scene. She’s been in music her whole life, playing in her parents’ band, Sol y Canto, since she was a kid. Alisa released her latest EP, Narratives, in September, and it is one of my favorite records of this year. It has such a range, and I can listen to it all day long.
Adia Victoria: Deep Water Blues Interviews Music Features Podcast by Ken Templeton - October 28, 20210 Listening to Adia Victoria’s latest record, A Southern Gothic, is mesmerizing. It is my favorite album of the year. It is poetic and gritty, ethereal and earthy all at once. Of course, if one thinks deeply about the blues, as Adia does, you know that paradox is all around. Joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, life and death, are all cousins. It is the tension in these spaces where art, beauty, and freedom thrive. The first couple of times I got to chat with Adia (for her albums Baby Blues and Silences), I still lived in the north. But now I live in Durham, NC, and I hear the songs differently. I’m still sorting that out and one of the
Charlie Parr: Last of the Better Days (podcast) Music Features Podcast by Ken Templeton - August 27, 2021August 27, 20210 It is truly amazing when an artist can use the same tools for decades and continue to create vibrant, urgent, singular work. If there’s any musician that I know who fits this description, it’s Charlie Parr. He gets miles out of a few different guitars and his voice. On his new album, Last of the The Better Days Ahead, he took a new approach to songwriting, focusing on the lyrics before he picked up a guitar. The result is a record that really slows you down, helps you listen, and brings the worlds and stories that Charlie creates into focus. It was such a pleasure to talk with Charlie for the podcast. Please forgive some of the background noise on my
Yasmin Williams: Chasing Sounds (Podcast) Music Features Podcast by Ken Templeton - July 21, 20210 Hearing Yasmin Williams’s compositions is immediately transfixing--and then you see her play, and it’s like you’re seeing someone invent how to play guitar. Yasmin’s most recent record, Urban Driftwood, is a masterpiece. It evokes a wide range of emotions and mirrors experiences that are somber, joyful, angry, and hopeful. We had the great pleasure of chatting with Yasmin for the RLR podcast. In this reflective conversation, Yasmin takes stock of where she is now, after a year in which she put out Urban Driftwood and is now bringing it out in the world. She talks about processing protests for racial justice through her music and how she moves from unconscious playing to conscious crafting. We hope you enjoy this podcast