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The Vermont native, who is now based in London, has collaborated with saxophonist and producer Sam Gendel to reinterpret and regenerate ten songs that he has gathered together as part of a decades-long quest to recontextualise what it means to sing folk songs or make folk music.The music on Salt River ranges from traditional Appalachian ballad “Golden Willow Tree” to a radical reimagining of Lou Reed’s ”Big Sky,” and was recorded by Amidon, Gendel and percussionist Philippe Melanson, who played together as a trio during sessions at Gendel’s home in Los Angeles.
Having initially encountered Gendel at his now-fabled residency at the Hollywood Italian restaurant Pace, Amidon and Gendel have collaborated on various recordings and concerts over the past few years; but Salt River is their first extended collaboration, sparked when Amidon suggested they delve into his treasure box of collected songs.
As Sam himself describes, “This album is a campfire, but the campfire is around Sam Gendel’s synthesizer. Or maybe it’s a journey through the corridors of my memory, if my memory was transplanted into Sam and Phil’s dreams.”
Taken together, these 10 songs feel like a shared playground of discovery, with Amidon finding new ways for old songs to exist in the company of his two unfettered collaborators.
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Camberwell Church St, London SE5 8RB , London, United Kingdom
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