A Hawk and a Hacksaw is an American folk duo from

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, currently signed to L.M. Duplication. The band consists of accordionist

Jeremy Barnes Jeremy Barnes may refer to: * Jeremy Barnes (baseball) (born 1987), American baseball coach * Jeremy Barnes (cricketer) (born 1970), English cricketer and clergyman *Jeremy Barnes (musician) Jeremy Barnes (born September 18, 1976) is an Americ ...

, who was previously the drummer for

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock ...

and Bablicon, and violinist

Heather Trost Heather Trost (born July 18, 1982) is an American violinist and singer. Biography Trost was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is one of the two members of the American Balkan Folk band A Hawk and a Hacksaw, with husband Jeremy Barnes (of Neu ...

. The music is inspired by

Eastern European Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, Turkish and

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

traditions, and is mostly instrumental. They have released six albums and have toured internationally. The first four albums and an EP were released on

The Leaf Label The Leaf Label is a British independent record label based in Yorkshire, England. Initially an electronic music label, releasing mainly instrumental music, the company's approach now features artists spanning jazz and post-punk. History The Le ...

and afterwards on their own label L. M. Duplication.

Career

While Barnes lived in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, he found himself in a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

area with many people from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

and began to develop an interest in

Romanian folk music Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

. The band's self-titled first album recorded by Barnes in the south of France, was released in 2002. It provided the soundtrack for the documentary ''

Zizek! ''Zizek!'' or ''Žižek!'', is a 2005 documentary film directed by Astra Taylor. An international co-production of the United States and Canada, its subject is philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek, a prolific author and former candidate fo ...

'', directed by

Astra Taylor Astra Taylor (born September 30, 1979) is a Canadian-American documentary filmmaker, writer, activist, and musician. She is a fellow of the Shuttleworth Foundation for her work on challenging predatory practices around debt. Life Born in Winni ...

, which features Slovenian cultural theorist

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New ...

. In March 2005 the band released their second album ''

Darkness at Noon ''Darkness at Noon'' (german: link=no, Sonnenfinsternis) is a novel by Hungarian-born novelist Arthur Koestler, first published in 1940. His best known work, it is the tale of Rubashov, an Old Bolshevik who is arrested, imprisoned, and tried ...

'', recorded in England, the Czech Republic and New Mexico. It was during the recording of this album that Barnes met Trost and that the band became a duo. In 2005, the band met Zach Condon of the band

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and gave his bedroom recordings to the small independent label,

Ba Da Bing Records Ba Da Bing Records is an American record label based in Brooklyn, New York. The name is derived from the saying "ba da bing, ba da boom", common among Italian-Americans, especially in New Jersey. The label was founded in Leonia, New Jersey in 19 ...

. They also played on the first Beirut album, '' Gulag Orkestar''. The band's third record, ''

The Way the Wind Blows ''The Way the Wind Blows'' is the third studio album by A Hawk and a Hacksaw, released in 2006 on The Leaf Label. Track listing # "In the River" # "The Way the Wind Blows" # "Song for Joseph" # "Fernando's Giampari" # "God Bless the Ottoman Emp ...

'' (released in 2006), was partially recorded in the small Romanian village of Zece Prăjini, and features members of the brass band

Fanfare Ciocărlia Fanfare Ciocărlia is a twelve-piece Romani Balkan brass band from the northeastern Romanian village of Zece Prăjini. They are known for their fast, high-energy music with complex rhythms and high-speed staccato clarinet, saxophone, and tru ...

. In 2007, they were awarded a grant by the CMN branch of the UK Arts Council, which enabled them to do a collaborative tour of the UK with the Hungarian folk group The Hun Hangár Ensemble, coinciding with the release of a collaborative EP. Barnes and Trost lived in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

for two years. ''

Délivrance Délivrance is the fourth full-length studio album by A Hawk and a Hacksaw, released in 2009 on The Leaf Label. Singles "Foni Tu Argile", a traditional Greek Rembetika song, is the first single from the album. It was released as a 500 copy, lim ...

'' was recorded in Budapest, Hungary and released in 2009. It includes collaborations with a number of Hungarian folk musicians, including Ferenc Kovács, Balázs Ungar, and

Kálmán Balogh Kálmán Balogh (born 18 January 1959) is a Hungarian cimbalom player and leader of Kalman Balogh's Gypsy Cimbalom Band. History Balogh is a Hungarian cimbalom player part of a lineage of Hungarian Gypsy musicians. A graduate of Franz Liszt ...

. In 2010, Barnes and Trost started their own label, L.M. Duplication, and released their fifth album, '' Cervantine'', in February 2011. It features guest performances from Stephanie and Chris Hladowski. A Hawk and A Hacksaw have appeared at the

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

, the Green Man Festival, Pitchfork Music Festival, the Calgary Folk Fest, Wellington Arts Fest (N.Z.), among others. They have also toured with Wilco,

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music ...

, of Montreal, Beirut and Portishead. They were chosen by

Jeff Mangum Jeff Mangum (born 24 October 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who gained prominence as the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well for his co-founding of The Elephant 6 Recording Company. M ...

to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he curated in March 2012 in

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National ...

, England. They performed a new and original soundtrack to

Sergei Parajanov Sergei Parajanov, ka, სერგო ფარაჯანოვი, uk, Сергій Параджанов (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was an Armenian filmmaker. Parajanov is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers t ...

's 1964 classic; ''

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors ''Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors'', alternatively translated into English as ''Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors'' or ''Shadows of Our Ancestors'' ( uk, Тіні забутих предків, Tini zabutykh predkiv), also known in English under ...

''. In 2013 they released the soundtrack as '' You Have Already Gone to the Other World''.

Name

The name "A Hawk and A Hacksaw" is a reference to the book ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'' by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

. ''Don Quixote'' was written in 1605. This quotation comes from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' probably written in 1600; ''I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw''. The original quote was changed from "Handsaw" to " Hacksaw" to reference the

Aksak In Ottoman musical theory, ''aksak'' is a rhythmic system in which pieces or sequences, executed in a fast tempo, are based on the uninterrupted reiteration of a matrix, which results from the juxtaposition of rhythmic cells based on the alternat ...

meter that is prevalent in

and Turkish music. In the original ''Don Quixote'', Cervantes contrasted black and white rather than a hawk and a hand-saw. The

Tobias Smollett Tobias George Smollett (baptised 19 March 1721 – 17 September 1771) was a Scottish poet and author. He was best known for picaresque novels such as '' The Adventures of Roderick Random'' (1748), '' The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle'' (1751 ...

translation, however, reads, "...therefore, let every man lay his hand upon his heart and not pretend to mistake an hawk for a hand-saw; for, we are all as God made us, and many of us much worse." Barnes explained the name as "when I was starting

he band He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

I felt like – and I still do feel like -

Discography

Studio albums

*''A Hawk and a Hacksaw'' (2002 – Cloud Recordings, 2004 re-issue -

) *''

'' (2005 –

) *''

'' (2006 –

) *''

'' (2009 –

) *'' Cervantine'' (2011 – L.M. Duplication) *'' You Have Already Gone to the Other World'' (2013 – L.M. Duplication) *''

Forest Bathing ''Forest Bathing'' is the seventh studio album by A Hawk and a Hacksaw. It was released April 13, 2018. Prior to its release, the song "A Broken Road Lined With Poplar Trees" premiered on Under the Radar's website. Album name and concept The ...

'' (April 13th, 2018 – L.M. Duplication)

EPs

*''

A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble ''A Hawk and A Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble'' is an EP by A Hawk and a Hacksaw and The Hun Hangár Ensemble released in 2007 on The Leaf Label. A 20-minute bonus DVD was released with the CD, titled ''An Introduction to A Hawk and a Hac ...

'' (2007 –

)

Singles

*" Foni Tu Argile" (2009 –

)

References

External links

A Hawk and a Hacksaw official websiteThe Leaf Label official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawk and a Hacksaw, A Culture of Albuquerque, New Mexico American folk musical groups Mariachi groups Klezmer groups