This morning we are absolutely delighted to welcome Magic Tuber Stringband to MailTape. Based in Durham, the band weaves itself into the Appalachian folk traditions, nourished by noise and experimental textures. Members Evan Morgan, Mike DeVito, and Courtney Werner join us following the release of their latest album X.
The band is intricately intune with their acoustic environments, explaining how the Appalachian audio landscape is rich with fascinating textures and natural harmonies. The band’s fiddler, Courtney Werner, also works as an acoustic biologist, tracking the ecosystem’s birds and other creatures. The layers of the soundscape each feed into one another, the insects and the frogs make sounds together - some repetitive, some flashing above monotony fields. This kind of attention bleeds into the band’s creative process, where the group members each experiment in emulating the natural environment with their instruments. The acoustics of the places they’ve lived in and the sounds they’ve collected reflect back into the music, offering the touchstones for experimenting with tonalities and textures.
Guest’s selection
Latin Playboys - Mustard
Magic Tuber Stringband: ” I just recently discovered the wonders of this little project, which I think I had always discounted because of its name. It’s got just about everything - field recordings, lo-fi production, hi-fi production, slick new blues tunes, half-baked fiddle jams, zany synth, glitchy guitar, spoken word, drum machines. No track sounds the same, but “Mustard” is one of my favorites, an infectious experiment in minimalist songwriting. By no means perfect records but that’s what makes them trips worth taking. - Evan Morgan (guitar, pump organ) “
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - Âme debout
Magic Tuber Stringband: ” Another recent discovery, sadly due to Ribeiro’s passing this past summer. The ballads are plaintive; Ribeiro’s voice is powerful but vulnerable, often venturing into extended techniques; the band sounds like Emmanuelle Parrenin jamming with Tangerine Dream. There’s a clear dedication to repetition and texture that I think we always hope to maintain in our own music. - Evan Morgan (guitar, pump organ) “
Baka Beyond / Baka Forest People - Venolouma
Magic Tuber Stringband: ” This track more or less has it all for me. Sonically, the three voices (strings, percussion, voice) interact with a dizzying complexity that doesn’t obscure the clarity of the whole. Each individual part is characterized by what seems to be strict repetition of motif with the allowance for variation. However, identifying any given motif proves to be difficult at times upon close listening, as the variations between repetitions are significant. I am particularly inspired by a musical approach that can preserve both of these aspects simultaneously, that is, strict repetition without a loss of organic improvisation, or organic improvisation without a loss of motivic thread. Perhaps most notable, this music feels deeply rooted in and contextualized by the place of its making, as well as the humanity of the specific musicians performing. Though the intricacy of its construction is superlative, it is the emotional response that the music provokes that makes this track stand out to me. - Mike DeVito (bass, banjo) “
Curator’s selection
Magic Tuber Stringband - Piney Woods Burn
Sarah: ” “
Weirs and Magic Tuber Stringband - Tunnel
Sarah: ” lorem ipsum “
Magic Tuber Stringband - Ghost Pipe
Sarah: ” lorem ipsum “
Weirs and Magic Tuber Stringband - Tunnel
Sarah : ” Give yourself the gift of listening, or rather breathing in, this track. Recorded live to tape in the pitch black Virginia Crozet Rail Tunnel, the release goes through so many shades of experimental improv, traditional, and noise movements. Featuring fiddle, gong, shruti box, moth harp, vocals, Weissenborn, and percussives, we are witnessing magic made in the dark. ”
Thank you…
