What is Americana music?
Some things can not be defined. So in this case, I'm going to attempt to give you a brief definition to the best of my ability. Americana is derived from traditional roots music. It is colored with everything from country to blues to folk, and a healthy gumbo of heart felt American pain, joy and history. There's only one way to understand this beautiful diverse creative style and that is to seek it out and listen with your heart.
Sad as it may be, Americana has been buried under the layers of commercial driven radio. Like a lot of the really great music that does not fit the three minute format, its not heard because it does not fit the perimeter of the dollar bill. Its time has come. Thanks to the disappearing monopolizing giant record labels and soon to be smaller radio stations, and the appearance of the digital age, it's finally got legs
I was at Pro Audio in Atlanta with Christian recording Artist Luke James yesterday watching him spend his children's milk money. While I was standing there dreaming of owning all the cool gear they have, I met a Americana artist. He was telling me how he was on his way to Europe to do a tour. What an engaging conversation. I asked him how many dates he does in the good old U S of A. Sadly his response was, very few. Is it ironic that our roots music is bigger in the UK than at home?
Here's what the Brits think of our view on our own music:
I was at Pro Audio in Atlanta with Christian recording Artist Luke James yesterday watching him spend his children's milk money. While I was standing there dreaming of owning all the cool gear they have, I met a Americana artist. He was telling me how he was on his way to Europe to do a tour. What an engaging conversation. I asked him how many dates he does in the good old U S of A. Sadly his response was, very few. Is it ironic that our roots music is bigger in the UK than at home?
Here's what the Brits think of our view on our own music:
Raymonde says American audiences focus too much on genres and the perception of being cool. “We think [Midlake] is super cool,” he says. “Because we appreciate that they’re amazing musicians with hearts and souls. Writing such moving songs about our world and how we relate to it is cool.”
The fragmentation and decentralization of culture also plays a part. “I think finding the best new music on the Internet is like looking for a new planet in a cloudy sky,” says Raymonde. He and Ellinghaus both say they’ve mainly discovered American bands from tapes or through other bands. Ellinghaus recently signed two new American bands, Tu Fawning and Wye Oak, and he says the reason was simply because they’d made records that blew him away.
Oh well it is what it is!
Click on join and become part of the AMP TEAM
No comments:
Post a Comment