Brightblack Morning Light is a musical group formed in Northern California by guitarist Nathan Shineywater and pianist Rachael Hughes, both of whom are from
Alabama. The band has been "linked to a spirit of folky 1960's revivalism,"
and they were called one of the leaders of the "freak folk" scene. Praised for their recordings, the band also organized a number of small folk festivals in Northern California.
The band eschewed commercial exposure, having chosen a relatively quiet and luxury-free life—they have lived in cars, tents, converted chicken-coops, and cabins,
and have recorded music using
solar power.
They were described as "back-to-the-land idealists and activists" who are influenced by such writers and activists as
Edward Abbey,
Leonard Peltier,
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...
,
Allen Ginsberg, and
Carlos Castaneda.
Shineywater also cites
Ram Dass,
Rachel Grimes, and
Hamza El Din.
History
In 2002, while called Brightblack, the band recorded an album named ''Ala.Cali.Tucky'' of songs they had performed while called Rainywood,
on Galaxia Records. The album was well-received, and praised for its vocal harmonies.
The current band was founded in 2004. In 2005 BrightBlack Morning Light played at
All Tomorrow's Parties, a music festival in England, at the invitation of the Kentucky band
Slint.
That same year the band signed with
Matador Records and released their
eponymous debut album, sold in Europe as well as America. In Belgium, the album received a positive review as well, in the weekly ''
HUMO''. ''
The New York Times'' called it "extraordinary" and praised it for its "mesmerizing, hollowed-out grooves."
In 2008, Matador released BBML's ''
Motion to Rejoin
''Motion to Rejoin'' is the second full-length album by Brightblack Morning Light. It was released on September 23, 2008 by Matador Records.
Track listing
# "Introduction" – 0:42
# "Hologram Buffalo" – 5:18
# "Gathered Years" – 8:00
# ...
''. The album was recorded in
New Mexico, electricity for the recording sessions was generated by four
solar power panels. ''Motion to Rejoin'' received attention in the United States
as well as in Europe, "Top 5 Alternative Albums of 2008" UK GUARDIAN, with reviews and press coverage in Belgium
and Germany.
In the year of 2009 BBML headlined/toured extensively multiple times across the USA and Europe, including Transmusicales France & ATP curation by My Bloody Valentine.
In 2012 the band had a digital release entitled "LIVE JOURNAL ONE Instrumentals (2006 & 2008)". Naybob Shineywater has a project with My Bloody Valentine co-Founder entitled Library Of Sands.
Quiet Quiet music festivals
The "Quiet Quiet" festivals were first started by Shineywater in 2003 in
Bolinas, California, and have been organized in various locations in the area, including
Big Sur
Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...
.
Bands and artists invited to play have included harpist
Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisc ...
, Women & Children, Lavender Diamond, Sunroof!, Ramblin Jack Elliott,
Will Oldham, and
Devendra Banhart. In 2006, the line-up included Greenwich Village folk veteran
Michael Hurley, members of the post-hardcore band
Lungfish,
Vetiver, and the debut of Northern California folk singer
Mariee Sioux
Mariee Siou (born February 4, 1985) is an American folk singer-songwriter.
Biography
Her father Gary Sobonya is a mandolin player of Polish and Hungarian descent, and her mother Felicia is of Spanish, Paiute, and Indigenous Mexican descent. Si ...
, who BBML also took on national and European tours as main support.
At an early Quiet Quiet gig in Bolinas, signs appeared at road junctions directing those interested where to go. At the gig itself, held at Smiley's Saloon in Bolinas and the Bolinas Community Center, locals mixed uneasily with hipsters there for the gig, and Shineywater could be heard repeatedly hushing the crowd so that the unamplified bands could be heard above the saloon din. However, the Community Center show was extremely profitable for the musicians and audience. The City Of Bolinas banned camping on the beach just weeks after the festival, because so many tents appeared on the local beach. Shineywater encouraged the beach as a place to camp for "all those too wasted to drive back to San Francisco."
Line-up
*Rachael Hughes –
keyboards
*Nathan Shineywater –
guitar,
slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
, keys
Supporting musicians
*Noah Wilson –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*Elias Reitz –
percussion
*Otto Hauser –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*Andy Macleod – drums
*
Paz Lenchantin –
bass guitar
*Gail West – vocals
*Ann McCrary – vocals
*Matthew Davis – Trombone
*Stuart Bogie – Saxophone
*M.Bauder – Flute
*Robbie Lee – Flute
Discography
*''Ala.Cali.Tucky'' (2003, Galaxia)
*''
Brightblack Morning Light'' (2006,
Matador Records)
*''
Motion to Rejoin
''Motion to Rejoin'' is the second full-length album by Brightblack Morning Light. It was released on September 23, 2008 by Matador Records.
Track listing
# "Introduction" – 0:42
# "Hologram Buffalo" – 5:18
# "Gathered Years" – 8:00
# ...
'' (2008, Matador Records)
*Lungfish/Brightblack Morning Light (2009, Split 7", Harvest Recordings)
*2012 "LIVE JOURNAL ONE Instrumentals (2006 & 2008) digital iTUNES release
See also
*
Psychedelic folk
*
Freak folk
Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music.
Chara ...
*
Anti-folk
Anti-folk (sometimes referred to as unfolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in response to the remnants of the 1960s folk music scene. Anti-folk music was made to mock the perceived seriousness of the time's mainstream music scene, a ...
*
Neofolk
Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumenta ...
References
External links
Brightblack Morning Light site
{{Authority control
American folk musical groups
Psychedelic folk groups