Are You Open? Seth Walker sings on his transfixing new album of the
same title. More than just a question, its a challenge, an invitation,
a dare. To me, being open means being vulnerable and exposed, explains
Walker, but that's where the little nuggets of creative gold come
from. I never planned an overall concept for this record, but each of
these songs seemed to spin out from asking myself that one simple
question. Produced by The Wood Brothers Jano Rix, Are You Open marks
Seth Walker's tenth studio recording, and the music is undoubtedly his
most inventive, exploring new sounds and textures as he examines what
it means to truly be open, both as an artist and more broadly as a
human in today's increasingly more complicated world. The songwriting
here is bold and infectious, featuring melodies and rhythms drawn from
Walker's time spent in Havana and filtered through his split-screen
life in New Orleans and Nashville. The result is a melting pot of
sounds and perspectives, a soulful brew of roots music from the
Americas and beyond. Songs frequently build off of a single chord,
shifting in color and tone as they ebb and flow and stack layer upon
layer over hypnotic bass lines and percussion grooves. The record
features Walkers guitar playing more heavily than ever before, and the
new approach suits him well, showcasing a melodic prowess to match his
prodigious lyrical gifts. Are You Open? follows 2016s critically
acclaimed Gotta Get Back, a stunning collection that found Walker
excavating the roots of his love affair with music by reuniting the
family that first sparked his fire as a child. That album traced its
origins back to Walker's native North Carolina, where he grew up on a
multi-family commune and studied classical violin and cello before
ultimately discovering his passion for soul, jazz, blues, and folk.
He'd go on to deftly mix all those genres and more in his work as a
solo artist, organically building up a celebrated two-decade career
that's earned him praise everywhere from The Washington Post to NPR,
who hailed his hard-driving songs and sweet tenor, in addition to
landing him dates with The Mavericks, The Wood Brothers, Raul Malo,
Paul Thorn and Ruthie Foster, among others.
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19/04/2020 Last update