R.L. BURNSIDE PROTEGE MAKES FORWARD-LOOKING, EFFECTS-LADEN COLLECTION
Psychedelic blues innovators Ted Drozdowski's Scissormen will release their sixth album, 'Love & Life,' on July 31st
via the Dolly Sez Woof label. An exhilarating musical experience, 'Love
& Life' is a culmination of Drozdowski’s eclectic and adventurous
musical career, fusing psych, blues, and garage rock histories in an
exceptionally forward-looking, sonically audacious collection. A protégé
of R.L. Burnside, Drozdowski sat in with the legendary bluesman
multiple times before his passing and expands on his vision here. The
album's eleven new tracks find the bandleader at his most electrifying,
as scorched, layered guitars drip with distortion underneath his
open-throated voice. Legendary soul singer Mighty Sam McClain and
GRAMMY-nominated organist/Bobby Rush bandleader Paul Brown make guest
appearances on the album alongside the Scissormen, who have expanded
from a duo into a lean, blistering trio over years of relentless
international touring, including high profile stops at major festivals
like Bonnaroo. The album will coincide with the release of a new e-book
by Drozdowski, who is also an award-winning music journalist and
educator, titled Obsessions of a Music Geek, Vol. 1: Blues Guitar
Giants.
Drozdowski has a gift for painting vivid lyrical portraits, with
characters ranging from old bluesmen and coal miners to sinister ghosts
and the devil himself. On "R.L. Burnside (Sleight Return)," he recounts a
visit from his musical mentor, while "Watermelon Kid" pays homage to
Watermelon Slim. "Beggin' Jesus" battles with temptation, "The River"
takes a spine-chilling journey to the banks of the Tallahatchie River in
north Mississippi, and "Black Lung Fever" ruminates on the disease that
took the lives of both of Drozdowski's immigrant grandfathers before he
was born.
"I wanted every song on this album to tell a story and be deeply rooted
in great American music," says Drozdowski. "I also wanted to apply more
elaborate production techniques, like multi-tracking my guitars and
treating them with multiple effects during and after recording, to
create a broader, unpredictable sonic palette, and just plain get
weird."
Drozdowski recorded the album at Omega Lab, a "green" digital recording
studio located in a tent perched on top of a mountain in the
unincorporated hamlet of Pasquo, Tennessee, outside of his adopted
hometown of Nashville. Despite the studio's high fidelity capabilities,
it runs on less power than the average hair dryer. It was there that
Drozdowski experimented with swirling, fuzzed-out tones, reversing parts
and layering others sometimes seven guitars deep. The result is an
album that blends the past and the future, the Delta and the city, Earth
and Hell, into one singular, stirring, utterly riveting sound.
Stay tuned for more info and tour dates.
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