Dirtmusic are Australian expat Hugo Race (The Bad Seeds, The Wreckery), and US citizens Chris Eckman (The Walkabouts, Willard Grant Conspiracy etc) and Chris Brokaw, who has worked with
The Lemonheads and Liz Phair, among others. They take their name from a novel by Australian writer Tim Winton, and came together through a shared resolution to escape the “digital sheen” of much contemporary rock for a more organic, back porch sound. Dirtmusic’s first album, recorded in 2007 in Eckman’s adopted home city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, somehow got into the hands of the booker of Mali’s annual Festival of the Desert who invited them to perform.
When the band attended the 2008 Festival in the Desert in Mali, they found common musical
ground with the Touareg band Tamikrest, jamming with them almost non-stop for three days. The following year, the two groups met again in the Malian capital of Bamako for an intense recording session, which produced Tamikrest’s accomplished debut Adagh and ΒΚΟ, an album named after the acronym for Bamako’s international airport.
DIRTMUSIC - DIRTMUSIC 2007
Digging back to their roots in search of the raw urban folkblues, Eckman, Race and Brokaw converge
paths in the European spring for full immersion in the journey of a brand new collaborative project: DIRT MUSIC. Three multi-instrumental artists from diverse backgrounds - three voices discovering a mutual language in the legacy of the frontier. Six strings, some keys, "found" percussion, steel bottleneck, roots feels, acoustic storytelling illuminated by an electronic vein. Dreams and memories carved from hard bedrock reality: Dirtmusic - a road movie in evolution...
Dirtmusic – Dirtmusic
Label: Glitterhouse Records – GRCD 676
Format: CD, Album, Promo
Country: Germany
Released: 2007
Genre: Rock, Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Blues Rock, Country Blues, Folk Rock
TRACKS
01. Erica Moody 3:06
02. The Other Side 5:37
03. Sun City Casino 5:30
04. Face Of Evil 3:35
05. The Returning 5:30
06. Still Running 5:37
07. Summer Days 3:30
08. Ballad Of A Dream 7:15
09. No Sorrow More 4:51
10. Panther Hunting 2:04
11. Wasted On 4:07
12. Morning Dew (Written-By – Dobson, Rose) 6:18
LINE - UP
Voice, Guitar, Banjo, Harmonium, Melodica, Percussion, Drums – Chris Brokaw
Voice, Guitar, Organ [Hammond], Electric Piano [Wurlitzer] – Chris Eckman
Voice, Guitar, Organ [Hammond], Harmonium, Percussion – Hugo Race
Written-By – Chris Brokaw (tracks: 1, 4, 7, 10), Chris Eckman (tracks: 2, 5, 8, 11), Hugo Race (tracks: 3, 6, 9)
Flac Size: 343 MB
DIRTMUSIC - BKO 2010
Things open with Black Gravity, where the combination of electric and acoustic sounds as well as kit drums and hand-percussion suggests early T. Rex, with Tamikrest’s singer Ousmane Ag Mossa weaving a
chorus in Tamasheq between Eckman’s verses. Other Malian stars paid visits to the studio: Fadimata Walet Oumar from the famous Touareg group Tartit lends her sublime vocals to “All Tomorrow’s Parties” and “Desert Wind”. Two master musicians from Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra jam on several abstract pieces, with one of them, “Niger Sundown”, being included on the album, while guitar legend Lobi Traoré plays on closing track “Bring It Home”.
Dirtmusic – BKO
Label: Glitterhouse Records – GRCD 704
Format: CD, Album
Country: Germany
Released: Apr 19, 2010
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Indie Rock
TRACKS
01. Black Gravity 6:07
Bass, Vocals – Cheikhe Ag Tigly
Calabash, Vocals – Pino Ibrahim Ag Ahmed
Djembe, Vocals – Aghaly Ag Mohamadine
Drums, Guitar [Tremelo], Vocals – Chris Brokaw
Guitar [Distortion], Vocals – Hugo Race
Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Mossa Ag Borayba
Vocals, Electric Guitar – Chris Eckman, Ousmane Ag Mossa
Written-By – Eckman, Ag Mossa
02. All Tomorrow's Parties 5:39
Bass – Cheikhe Ag Tigly
Calabash – Pino Ibrahim Ag Ahmed
Djembe – Aghaly Ag Mohamadine
Electric Guitar [Lead] – Ousmane Ag Mossa
Electric Guitar, Vocals – Hugo Race
Organ, Vocals – Chris Eckman
Rhythm Guitar – Mossa Ag Borayba
Vocals – Fadimata Walett Oumar
Vocals, Guitar – Chris Brokaw
Written-By – Reed
03. Ready For The Sign 4:16
Bass – Cheikhe Ag Tigly
Calabash – Pino Ibrahim Ag Ahmed
Djembe – Aghaly Ag Mohamadine
Drums, Electric Guitar – Chris Brokaw
Organ, Vocals – Chris Eckman
Rhythm Guitar – Mossa Ag Borayba
Vocals, Guitar – Hugo Race
Written-By – Race
04. Desert Wind 4:34
Banjo [Slide] – Chris Brokaw
Bass – Cheikhe Ag Tigly
Calabash – Pino Ibrahim Ag Ahmed
Djembe, Maracas – Aghaly Ag Mohamadine
Electric Guitar – Ousmane Ag Mossa
Organ – Chris Eckman
Rhythm Guitar – Mossa Ag Borayba
Vocals – Fadimata Walett Oumar
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Hugo Race
Written-By – Race
05. Lives We Did Not Live 4:40
Bass – Cheikhe Ag Tigly
Calabash – Pino Ibrahim Ag Ahmed
Djembe – Aghaly Ag Mohamadine
Drums, Maracas, Guitar [Distortion], Vocals – Chris Brokaw
Electric Guitar, Vocals – Hugo Race
Rhythm Guitar – Mossa Ag Borayba
Vocals, Electric Guitar – Chris Eckman
Written-By – Eckman
06. Unknowable 4:14
Bass – Cheikhe Ag Tigly
Calabash – Pino Ibrahim Ag Ahmed
Electric Guitar [Lead] – Ousmane Ag Mossa
Guitar [Tremelo], Bass – Hugo Race
Guitar [Wah] – Chris Eckman
Vocals, Banjo, Guitar – Chris Brokaw
Written-By – Brokaw
07. Smokin Bowl 5:13
Banjo, Vocals – Chris Brokaw
Bass – Cheikhe Ag Tigly
Calabash – Pino Ibrahim Ag Ahmed
Djembe, Maracas – Aghaly Ag Mohamadine
Guitar [Fuzz], Vocals – Chris Eckman
Lead Guitar – Ousmane Ag Mossa
Rhythm Guitar – Mossa Ag Borayba
Vocals, Guitar [Tremelo] – Hugo Race
Written-By – Race
08. Collisions 5:41
Bass, Guitar [Buddah], Organ, Vocals – Hugo Race
Djembe – Aghaly Ag Mohamadine
Guitar [Ebow], Vocals – Chris Eckman
Vocals, Guitar, Drums – Chris Brokaw
Written-By – Brokaw
09. Niger Sundown 4:19
Acoustic Guitar – Chris Eckman
Banjo – Chris Brokaw
Guitar [Slide] – Hugo Race
Written-By – Dirtmusic
Xalam [N'goni] – Issa Koné
10. Bring It Home 4:46
Acoustic Guitar [Lead] – Lobi Traoré
Banjo, Vocals – Chris Brokaw
Organ, Xalam [N'goni], Vocals – Hugo Race
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Harmonium – Chris Eckman
TAMIKREST On Urban Aspirines HERE
I only have the BKO, i can get the 1st one cheaply for 5e. It's good that you also mentioned THE WRECKERY, the little known Aussie- band. I have a 2 cd here w/ all their recordings; it's also highly recommended. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kostas. I'm not familiar with the band (nothing new there then) although i like the associated bands, and incidentally, i'm a fan of Tim Winton's novels too, so chances are i'll like these albums.
ReplyDelete