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Steve Earle & The Dukes sl\u00e4pper ett nytt album, Ghosts of West Virginia, den 22 maj. Nu har de sl\u00e4ppt en singel, Its about Blood, som \u00e4r en f\u00f6rsmak av det kommande albumet.<\/p>\n
Ett pressman ber\u00e4ttar mer (p\u00e5 engelska):
\nThe album was produced by Steve Earle and engineered by Ray Kennedy at Jimi Hendrix\u2019s legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The 10-song set is Earle\u2019s 20th studio album and was mixed entirely in mono, lending a sonic cohesion and punch. In recent years, Earle has experienced partial hearing loss in one ear and can no longer discern the separation that stereo is designed to produce. The recording features his latest incarnation of his backing band The Dukes; Chris Masterson on guitar, Eleanor Whitmore on fiddle & vocals, Ricky Ray Jackson on pedal steel, guitar & dobro, Brad Pemberton on drums & percussion, and Jeff Hill on acoustic & electric bass.<\/p>\n
Ghosts of West Virginia centers on the Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion that killed twenty-nine men in that state in 2010, making it one of the worst mining disasters in American history. Investigations revealed hundreds of safety violations, as well as attempts to cover them up, and the mine\u2019s owners were forced to pay more than $200 million in criminal liabilities.<\/p>\n
Earle started working on the album after being approached by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, a playwrighting team that would create Coal Country, a theater piece about the Upper Big Branch disaster. They interviewed the surviving West Virginia miners, along with the families of the miners who died, and created monologues for their characters using those words. Working closely with Oskar Eustis, Public Theater\u2019s Artistic Director, they workshopped the songs and text for nearly four years. Earle functions as \u201ca Greek chorus with a guitar,\u201d in his words. He is on stage for the entire play and performs seven of the songs that lead Ghosts of West Virginia, including the powerful \u201cIt\u2019s About Blood,\u201d in which Earle blazons the names of all the men who died. \u201cThe actors don\u2019t relate directly with the audience,\u201d Earle explains. \u201cI do. The actors don\u2019t realize the audience is there. I do.\u201d The songs provide personal, historical and social context for the testimony of the play\u2019s characters.<\/p>\n
In ten deftly drawn, powerfully conveyed sonic portraits, Earle explores the historical role of coal in rural communities. With Ghosts of West Virginia, Earle says that he was interested in exploring a new approach to his songwriting. \u201cI\u2019ve already made the preaching-to-the-choir album,\u201d he says, specifically alluding to his 2004 Grammy Award winning The Revolution Starts…Now. As anyone politically attuned as Earle understands, there are times when the faithful need music that will raise their spirits and toughen their resolve. But he came to believe that our times might also benefit from something that addresses a different audience, songs written from a point of view that he is particularly capable of rendering.<\/p>\n
To be sure, Earle\u2019s politics have not changed. He believes in sustainable energy sources and ending fossil fuels. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean a thing in West Virginia,\u201d he says. You can\u2019t begin communicating with people unless you understand the texture of their lives, the realities that provide significance to their days. That is the entire point of Ghosts of West Virginia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought that, given the way things are now, it was maybe my responsibility to make a record that spoke to and for people who didn\u2019t vote the way that I did,\u201d he says. \u201cOne of the dangers that we\u2019re in is if people like me keep thinking that everyone who voted for Trump is a racist or an asshole, then we\u2019re fucked, because it\u2019s simply not true. So this is one move toward something that might take a generation to change. I wanted to do something where that dialogue could begin.\u201d He adds, \u201cI said I wanted to speak to people that didn\u2019t necessarily vote the way that I did, but that doesn\u2019t mean we don\u2019t have anything in common. We need to learn how to communicate with each other. My involvement in this project is my little contribution to that effort. And the way to do that \u2014 and to do it impeccably \u2014is simply to honor those guys who died at Upper Big Branch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Earle & The Dukes suffered a major loss when, not long before the band went into the studio, bassist Kelley Looney, who had played with Earle for thirty years, passed away. Beyond the death of a longstanding musical partner, Earle was faced with the prospect of finding someone who could share the telepathic musical communication so characteristic of the band. Happily, Jeff Hill, recently of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, joined the band on bass. \u201cEarle says, \u201cJeff stepped into the breach, but it was hard. It was really hard.\u201d In addition to the 29 miners killed at Upper Big Branch, Ghosts of West Virginia is dedicated to the memory of Kelley Looney.<\/p>\n
Steve Earle & The Dukes’ Ghosts of West Virginia will be available across digital retailers, on compact disc, and standard black vinyl.<\/p>\n
Steve Earle is one of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of his generation. A protege of legendary songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, he quickly became a master storyteller in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, The Pretenders, and countless others. 1986 saw the release of his debut record, Guitar Town, which shot to number one on the country charts and is now regarded as a classic of the Americana genre. Subsequent releases like The Revolution Starts…Now (2004), Washington Square Serenade (2007), and TOWNES (2009) received consecutive Grammy Awards. Restlessly creative across artistic disciplines, Earle has published both a novel and collection of short stories; produced albums for other artists such as Joan Baez and Ron Sexsmith; and acted in films, television (including David Simon\u2019s acclaimed The Wire), and on the stage. He currently hosts a radio show for Sirius XM. In 2009, Earle appeared in the off-Broadway play Samara, for which he also wrote a score that The New York Times described as \u201cexquisitely subliminal.\u201d Each year, Earle organizes a benefit concert for The Keswell School, for which his son John Henry attends and which provides educational programs for children and young adults with autism.<\/p>\n