New Orleans, LA (Press Release) -- CSB Roxy Music is proud to announce the release of New Orleans (via Mississippi)-based songwriter/singer LYNN DRURY's national debut release, "RISE OF THE FALL" on September 29, 2017. In "Rise Of The Fall", Drury’s world-weary but thoroughly alive songs and performances recall such artists as Lucinda Williams, British neo-soul star Amy Winehouse and 1980s British indie-rock band, the Smiths. Recorded in New Orleans at Music Shed Studios, the 12-song collection of 'Mississippi grit & New Orleans groove' encompasses country, folk, rock, pop and classic New Orleans R&B. New Orleans' local cultural gumbo thoroughly flavors her new album. “Different elements came out,” she says. Drury is especially pleased with the variety of music in "Rise of the Fall", her eighth album. “A little folk and country. And the stuff we did at the end is more rocking, live-sounding.” Coining her music "NOLAmericana", the Mississippi native who’s lived in New Orleans for more than a decade, Drury soaked up the Crescent City’s special vibe and tempo. “If you’re living in New Orleans,” Drury says, “even if you’re a country artist or a folk artist, there’s a rhythm that infuses everything you do. When you walk down the street, you see brass bands, second line parades. All of that influences me.” Drury produced "Rise of the Fall" herself, a challenge she hadn’t assumed since her early recordings. “I didn’t always get want I wanted from some of my earlier producers,” she says. “It’s challenging being a woman in the industry. Communicating your wishes to a lot of males can be sometimes be tough.” Although Drury planned to be "Rise of the Fall"’s sole producer, she later gave co-producer credit to René Coman, bassist with the New Orleans Latin-rock band the Iguanas and band leader for the "Rise of the Fall" sessions. “René loves my music,” she says. “Even if he wasn’t playing, he’d be there in the studio. He was my sounding board. He gave me the courage to do this.”
Joining Drury (vocals/acoustic guitar/tambourine/clarinet) & Coman (bass) in the studio were Chris Adkins (lead guitars/slide/12-string), Chris Pylant (drums/bgv), Derek Huston (saxophone), Jack Craft (cello), Sam Craft (violin), Jake Gold (Hammond B3), Trevor Brooks (B3 on "Lifetime"/pianos), Arséne DeLay (bgv on "Water Your Words"). Growing up on a 500-acre ranch in Carriere, Mississippi, Drury loved horses and country music. Classic country star Charley Pride headlined the first concert she attended.Country influences run through "Rise of the Fall". They’re in the relaxed, rolling tempo of “Lifetime of Living,” a song that’s also pop-savvy catchy. A breezy country-Americana sound arises in the sweet, guitar-twangy love song, “Cold Feet.” Despite the sad and weary tone of “What Good is the Rain,” Drury’s lament has consoling effect: “So what good is the rain?” she sings. “It don’t wash away the pain.” The John Prine-like “Anniversary” tells an amusing tale about a husband who knows that something important has slipped his mind. “It’s just his anniversary,” Drury reveals in the chorus.“11:11,” a moody, late-night love song, opens slowly before rising to a dramatic crescendo featuring a classical string section. “I Need You,” the album’s most New Orleans-centric song, features horns and a grooving, popping rhythm section. Drury’s love for the Smiths appears in two especially melancholy but lovely songs, title track “Rise of the Fall” and the album’s whistle solo-featuring finale, “Shutter.” For her 2014 album, "Come to My House", Drury worked with Smiths' producer John Porter. The producer of 13 Grammy-winning albums, Porter's decades of credits include Elvis Costello, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Bryan Ferry, Jon Cleary, Rickie Lee Jones and many more. Working with Porter taught her much about producing, Drury says. “I love how comfortable he made everyone feel,” she says. “The studio can be so tense. From an artist’s standpoint, my heart and soul are on the line. John understands all that. He has a way of calming any emotion.” Drury, despite being musically inclined from her early childhood, didn’t begin playing guitar and writing songs until she moved to New Orleans. “Honestly, the minute I learned a couple of chords I was writing songs,” she says. “They just poured out immediately.” In 2001, Drury released her album debut, "Crossing Frequencies". “My first album was the culmination of those first five years of picking up the guitar and playing as much as I can, all these little gigs in town,” she says. Two more albums, "Blackberry Winter" and "Spun", quickly followed. A business graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Drury kept day jobs until Hurricane Katrina. “The storm was a springboard,” she says. “It was freedom.” In 2006, Lynn Drury released "All You Need", an album produced by Jimbo Mathus of Squirrel Nut Zippers fame. Her post-Katrina exile included temporary residence in Memphis, eighteen months in Italy plus European touring with Italian guitarist Roberto Luti. Drury returned to New Orleans in 2009. She recorded her 2011 release, "Sugar on the Floor", with an all-star group of local players including Alex McMurray, Tommy Malone and Ivan Neville. With "Rise of the Fall", Lynn Drury shows just how much she has grown as a songwriter. “I don’t force it anymore,” she says of writing. “I’m at home with the ebb and flow of it. And it’s all about experience. You have to have fun and live an interesting life in order to write something interesting. For me, as a writer and an artist, I want to bring some understanding of us all being in the same boat. The songs are world weary but optimistic as well. Everything’s going to be all right.” www.lynndrury.com
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
BLOGROLL
B-Sides and Badlands Hitting All The Right Notes Key Music News Dreamspider's Blog Farce the Music TJ Music Archives
February 2020
|