Brightblack Morning Light

Brightblack Morning Light
Origin Northern California, USA
Genres Freak folk[1][2]
Years active 2005 - 2010
Labels Matador
Associated acts Daniel Higgs,[3] Vetiver,[4] Devendra Banhart, Espers, Joanna Newsom,[1] Slint[2]
Website http://www.thebrightblackmorninglight.com
Members
Rachael Hughes
Nathan Shineywater

Brightblack Morning Light was a band which formed in Northern California by Nathan Shineywater and Rachael Hughes, both of whom originally hail from Alabama,[1] Shineywater from Birmingham and Hughes from just outside of Montgomery.[2] Shineywater plays electric slide guitar, and Hughes favors vintage Fender Rhodes pianos;[1] they were accompanied by a varying group of musicians. The band has been "linked to a spirit of folky 1960's revivalism,"[5] and they were called a leader in the "freak folk" scene.[6] Praised for their recordings, the band also organized a number of small folk festivals in Northern California.[7]

The band eschewed commercial exposure, having chosen a relatively quiet and luxury-free life—they have lived in cars, tents, converted chicken-coops, and cabins,[1] and have recorded music using solar power.[8] They have released three critically acclaimed albums. They were described as "back-to-the-land idealists and activists" who are influenced by such writers and activists as Edward Abbey, Leonard Peltier, Henry David Thoreau, Allen Ginsberg, and Carlos Castaneda.[2] Shineywater also cites Ram Dass, Rachel Grimes, and Hamza El Din.[1]

Contents

Career

Rainywood

Shineywater, disappointed with the racial and cultural climate in Birmingham, Alabama,[9] claimed he moved away from Alabama after seeing photographs of Humboldt County, California, in an issue of National Geographic.[10] He lived in California for a while and when he returned to Alabama reconnected with childhood friend Rachael Hughes.[9] They formed Rainywood, and for the first four years were "a primarily underground--and live--phenomenon," calling themselves Rainywood.[1] Their first show was in Alabama, for 15 people at a benefit for the Alabama Green Party; living in the small folk scene in Birmingham, they soon befriended Will Oldham, with whom they went on tour three times.[2] After the last tour with Oldham, in 2002, they moved to Lagunitas, California, where they claim to have lived in tents and cabins.[2]

Brightblack

In 2004 they reissued, under the name Brightblack, an album called Ala.Cali.Tucky,[2] on Galaxia Records.[11] The album was well-received, and praised for its vocal harmonies.[2]

Brightblack Morning Light

What if all we need is already here, living around us, free? Why don't the animals talk to us? [Do] they think we aren't trustworthy?
—Nabob Shineywater[9]

The band began calling itself Brightblack Morning Light in 2005. They gained exposure in Europe by playing at All Tomorrow's Parties, a music festival in England, at the invitation of the Kentucky band Slint.[2] That same year the band signed with Matador Records and released their eponymous debut album, which attracted European attention as well, thanks to their performance at All Tomorrow's Parties;[12] In Belgium, the album received a positive review as well, in the weekly HUMO.[13] The New York Times called it "extraordinary" and praised it for its "mesmerizing, hollowed-out grooves."[5]

In 2008, Matador released BBML's Motion to Rejoin. The album was recorded in New Mexico, where the band had moved after leaving Northern California; electricity for the recording sessions was generated by four solar power panels.[14] Motion to Rejoin received attention in the United States[9][15][16] as well as in Europe, with reviews and press coverage in Belgium[17][18] and Germany.[19] In November 2009, the band also played in Germany.[19]

Quiet Quiet music festivals

The "Quiet Quiet" festivals were first started by Shineywater in 2003 in Bolinas, California, and have been organized in various locations in the area, including Big Sur.[1] Bands and artists invited to play have included harpist Joanna Newsom, Will Oldham, and Devendra Banhart. In 2006, the line-up included Greenwich Village folk veteran Michael Hurley, members of the post-hardcore band Lungfish, Vetiver, and Jennifer Herrema's band RTX.[7] At an early Quiet Quiet gig in Bolinas, signs appeared at road junctions directing those interested where to go. At the gig itself, held at Smiley's Saloon in Bolinas, locals mixed uneasily with hipsters there for the gig, and Shineywater could be heard repeatedly hushing the crowd so that the unamplified bands could be heard above the saloon din.

Line-up

Supporting musicians

Discography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Richardson, Derk (27 July 2006). "Brightblack Morning Light's back-to-the-land activists talk about the roots and evolution of their mystical, dreamy electric folk songs". San Francisco Chronicle. http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-07-27/music/17301414_1_nathan-nabob-shineywater-star-blanket-quiet-quiet-window-lights. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kamps, Garrett (12 January 2005). "Bohemian Rhapsody: If Brightblack weren't a trio of big, lovable hippies, it'd probably be huge by now". SF Weekly. http://www.sfweekly.com/2005-01-12/music/bohemian-rhapsody/2. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
  3. ^ "Up & Coming This Week's Notable Shows and Parties". The Stranger. 6 January 2009. http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/up-and-coming/Content?oid=936148. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  4. ^ Richardson, Derk (13 July 2006). "With its dazzling new CD, SF's Vetiver secures its place in the freak-folk vanguard -- with a little help from its friends". San Francisco Chronicle. http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-07-13/music/17301407_1_vetiver-acoustic-guitar-andy-cabic/3. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
  5. ^ a b Sanneh, Kelefa (23 June 2006). "Brightblack Morning Light: A Mellow Vibe With an Exacting Groove". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/23/arts/music/23brig.html. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
  6. ^ Crain, William (15 October 2008). "Brightblack Morning Light". San Diego Reader. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/oct/15/brightblack-morning-light/. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
  7. ^ a b c Thornton, Stuart (19 January 2006). "Quiet Quiet Mellow Folk Trip: Ocean Spell debuts at Fernwood this weekend". Montery County Weekly. http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/archives/2006/2006-Jan-19/Article.clubs_feature_1/1/@@index. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
  8. ^ a b Gilmartin, Wendy (28 May 2009). "Rock Picks: Fol Chen, Moonrats, Brightblack Morning Light, Bachelorette". LA Weekly. http://www.laweekly.com/2009-05-28/music/rock-picks-fol-chen-moonrats-brightblack-morning-light-bachelorette/. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
  9. ^ a b c d Parker, Chris (30 October 2008). "Brightblack Morning Light's Nathan Shineywater Smokes Some Pot and Answers Some Questions". Dallas Observer. http://www.dallasobserver.com/2008-10-30/music/brightblack-morning-light-s-nathan-shineywater-smokes-some-pot-and-answers-some-questions/. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  10. ^ Doran, Bob (5 October 2006). "The Hum: Free Ritual That Needs No Shrine". North Coast Journal. http://www.northcoastjournal.com/100506/hum1005.html. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  11. ^ "New releases". Music Week. 10 July 2004. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-517528/New-releases.html. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
  12. ^ "Rev. of Brightblack Morning Light, Brightblack Morning Light" (in French). Froggy Delight. November 2006. http://www.froggydelight.com/article-3480-Brightblack_Morning_Ligh.html. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
  13. ^ "Rev. of Brightblack Morning Light, Brightblack Morning Light" (in Dutch). HUMO. 2 December 2006. http://www.humo.be/tws/cd-reviews/3468/brightblack-morning-light-brightblack-morning-light.html. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  14. ^ Topping, Monica (9 October 2008). "Brightblack Morning Light: Southwestern solar-power album inspiration comes from Arcata". Times-Standard. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ETSB&p_theme=etsb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=123BCFE05C18EAB8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  15. ^ Leonard, Joel (23 September 2008). "The nomadic stylings of Brightblack Morning Light". The Carolinian Online. http://www.carolinianonline.com/2.7349/the-nomadic-stylings-of-brightblack-morning-light-1.1028437. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  16. ^ Varine, Patrick (30 September 2008). "Album review: Motion to Rejoin, by Brightblack Morning Light". Taunton Daily Gazette. http://www.tauntongazette.com/entertainment/x1424437427/Album-review-Motion-to-Rejoin-by-Brightblack-Morning-Light. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  17. ^ "Rev. of Brightblack Morning Light, Motion to Rejoin" (in Dutch). HUMO. 29 November 2008. http://www.humo.be/tws/cd-reviews/5572/brightblack-morning-light-motion-to-rejoin.html. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  18. ^ Smolders, Kevin (26 November 2008). "Rev. of Brightblack Morning Light, Motion To Rejoin" (in Dutch). Cutting Edge. http://www.cuttingedge.be/music/reviews/109846-brightblack-morning-light-motion-to-rejoin-. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  19. ^ a b "Eintauchen in die US-Neo-Hippie-Szene" (in German). Südwest Presse. 16 November 2009. http://www.swp.de/bad_mergentheim/lokales/vorbach_und_taubertal/art5640,254760. Retrieved 26 March 2010. 
  20. ^ a b c d e Stosuy, Brandon (23 June 2006). "Rev. of Brightblack Morning Light, Brightblack Morning Light". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9154-brightblack-morning-light/. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 

External links