„SPACEY BEAUTIFUL FOLK“ – ROLLING STONE
INFO
ARTIST
RELEASE DATE
02.11.2018
CATALOGUE NO.
GRCD/GRLP/DIGITAL 883
TRACKLIST
Credits:
Design – Rutger Zuydervelt
Mastered By – Pieter De Wagter
Mixed By – Koen Gisen (tracks: 1 to 5, 7 to 9), Phill Brown (tracks: 6)
Photography By [Photos By] – Chris Eckman
Recorded By – Phill Brown
Recorded By [Recording Assistant] – Adam Karlík
Songwriter [All Songs Written By] – Chantal Acda, Chris Eckman, Eric Thielemans
The Lifer
In Circles
Look At My Feet
Slowed It To A Stop
Don’t Go Dark On Me
Good Luck With That
Walking Downhill
Wandering
Throw In The Hat 1
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Story
„It’s not clear who provides the distance, the light, or the sky in this collaboration between, Chris Eckman (of The Walkabouts), Chantal Acda (Sleepingdog, True Bypass) and avant jazz percussionist Eric Thielemans (of EARR Ensemble), but the trio is beautifully balanced“ wrote the British Uncut Magazin about the debut album “Casting Nets” (Glitterhouse Records, 2014). “This is a low-key beautiful record; hushed and patient, it waits for the listener to take it into their heart“ headlined Americana UK in its February 2015 issue and Rolling Stone magazine described the trio’s music as „expansively beautiful folk songs“ and gave it a 4 out of 5 rating. The new album Gold Coast has a lot in common with its predecessor, as Chris Eckman knows: “ We again recorded the album with our friend Phill Brown at Sono Studios outside of Prague. Phill has one of the most incredible recording histories of anyone from the rock music era, having been involved with records by The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Roxy Music, Talk Talk (yes, the classic “late period” ones), Beth Gibbons and many more. He also worked with The Walkabouts on two albums and more recently on Chantal’s last solo album “Bounce Back.” Phill has a wonderful ability to bring space and texture into his recordings. He places microphones in magical spots and searches for unexpected ambient sounds that beautifully compliment the material. We wanted to work together again at Sono Studios because not only do we all feel comfortable there, but the large (though still warm) recording space provides plenty of options for sonic exploration. For example, the room has a grainy, ethereal reverberance that almost provides an extra instrument to the ensemble. We felt that we hadn’t exhausted the ideas that such a studio provides and so we enthusiastically returned.“
Timeless and sublime come the 9 stunning songs on ‚Gold Coast‘: “We recorded the tracks with all three of us playing and singing at the same time. We left the expressive qualities of the performances as they were, embracing irregularities and spontaneous decisions and so-called mistakes. We didn’t make digital intrusions. A few elements were added later, but the basic triangle of Eric, Chantal and myself was left mostly uncorrupted. Much more than on the first album, we thought of the band as a single entity, a single voice. Chantal wrote lyrics and music for me to sing and I did the same for her and the songs found their essence only after being arranged and buoyed by Eric’s drums“ says Chris Eckman.
The songs on ‚Gold Coast‘ are borne of melancholy, but never seem hopeless: „Most of these songs are borne of melancholy, but never seem hopeless,“ Chris says, “these are songs of community, both in how they were fashioned and in the emotions they ultimately embrace. The narrators are like most of us in these times, whittled down by chaos and disappointment, but still not about to be broken. The search is still alive. The embrace is still strong. The fight is still there“ he elaborates.
Bio: In our fast-paced, digital times, Distance, Light & Sky stand out pleasantly from the crowd. They are one band, one unit. Chris Eckman is joined by the incredibly talented Dutch/Belgian singer and songwriter Chantal Acda, who has already provided various highlights with the Isbells, but also solo. Her latest album ‚Live at Jazz Middelheim‘ together with Bill Frisell was published in 2018 on Glitterhouse. Distance, Light & Sky is rounded off by the classically trained Belgian percussionist and composer Eric Thielemans, who is not unknown to insiders through the EARR Ensemble (Ensemble Artist Repertoire Research) or his collaboration with the legendary Sun Ra saxophonist Marshall Allen.