Legendary violinist Darol Anger (David Grisman Quintet, Turtle Island String Quartet, The Montreux Band, Sim City, Republic Of Strings) and singer-songwriter Emy Phelps have been working for the last 4 years on a music project from the Nineteen-Sixties. Because of the iconic nature of this music, and the fact that it has been 50 years since much of this music appeared, Darol and Emy now think of it as folk music (even though they are paying lots of well-deserved publishing royalties to bring these songs back into circulation). Music of that era has shaped all popular and much “serious” music since then, and established styles that artists create in today. The songs trace American music’s transition through pop and folk and carry the seeds for today’s Americana and Roots music. Their new CD is called Music of Our People (MOOP).
The Music
Anger and Phelps both grew up in a time when popular music was one of the most important cultural resources that one could experience. The music coming out of New York, Detroit, Memphis, England and California changed people's lives. New ideas and sounds brought people together and galvanized political movements.
Darol Anger notes: “People would wait for the next release of their favorite artist. If you lived through this time, you know what I'm talking about. The experience of laying on the floor or couch in bedrooms or living rooms, reading or just studying the cover art, listening deeply into the music, soaking up layers of meaning that may or may not have been there.”
Emy Phelps comments: “We literally wore out albums because we loved them so much. How lucky we were to have time in our lives to experience music that way.”
Out of the maybe thousands of significant songs that appeared during that time, Darol and Emy, consider the songs on Music of Our People as ones that ‘showed up’ for them and made an impact—personally, socially, musically.
The core of Music of Our People’s sound is Emy’s multi-hued voice, Darol’s unmistakable violin, and their unique guitar & octave mandolin weave that sets up a vast acoustic landscape. This music is built on an incredible collection of musicians: Bridget Kearny (Lake Street Dive), Ethan Jodziewicz (Sierra Hull, Mr Sun), banjo innovator Tony Trischka, Greg Liszt (Bruce Springsteen, Crooked Still) Celtic Jazz Harp virtuoso Maeve Gilchrist, and New Acoustic hotshots Grant Gordy, Charlie Rose, and Dominick Leslie. These artists add virtuosity and depth to Music of Our People and help make this CD much more than a series of cover songs.
About Darol Anger & Emy Phelps Work
In the eight years that legendary fiddler Darol Anger and singer/songwriter Emy Phelps have worked together, they've played close to two hundred concerts and festivals in the US, Ireland, Australia and Spain, produced three full-length CDs and five themed shows: a winter holiday show, a Valentines' show, an orchestra show, and a tribute to Guy Clark, as well as Emy's original songs and Darol’s Republic of Strings shows. This all has happened in addition to Darol’s education work at Berklee, in international music festivals and clinics, his online fiddle school, and Emy’s work raising the last of her 4 children.
Now they have produced another landmark recording, true to Americana form, engaging multiple generations in the love of solid, true, heartfelt tunes.
Listen and buy: https://musicofourpeople.hearnow.com/music-of-our-people
Buy CD from Artist: http://darolanger.com/index.php?page=cds&display=580
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Music-Of-Our-People-Darol-Angers-Songs-of-the-Roaring-60s-199944850791044/
BandCamp: https://darolanger1.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/darolanger
Music of Our People’s Song List:
1. Up on the Roof
2. These Boots Are Made for Walking
3. The Wichita Lineman
4. Stone Soul Picnic
5. Killin’ the Blues
6. Tattler & I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine
7. You Keep Me Hangin’ On
8. Stoney End
9. Ripple
10. Uncle John’s Band
11. Bird on a Wire
Learn more at DarolAnger.com
and ArtistWorks, https://artistworks.com/fiddle-lessons-darol-anger. ?
