Golden Loam by Laurel Premo
Laurel Premo’s latest solo work presents original and traditional music voiced on finger-style electric guitar and lap steel. Perhaps by its most honest classification “roots guitar,” the sonic vocabulary of Golden Loam is informed by guitar’s antecedents in American traditions - fiddle and banjo, the rhythms, melody and intonation therein, as well as that music’s relationship to movement. Glowing, droning, tugging, scraping, revolving, Premo bears renewed electric dirt, the golden loam layered by centuries of folk.
Following The Iron Trios (2019), Premo’s sophomore release builds on the dark roots world she arranged, with seeking, untethered delivery and a masterful use of space, on a dynamic wave of warm, gritty sustain. Laurel’s vocals on two pieces ‘Hop High’ and ‘I Am A Pilgrim’ are traditional calls beaconing the guitar’s response, and fold in timbrely like additional instrumental lines sustaining the drone.
Golden Loam was self produced and recorded during the pandemic lockdown of summer/fall 2020. The majority of the record is solo performance, but two featured collaborators are woven in to this embodied rhythmic collection. Percussive dancer Nic Gareiss (Michigan) appears on tracks 5 & 9, and bones player Eric Breton (Quebec) on track 3.
Tracklist
| 1. | Calloway | 3:44 |
| 2. | On My Way to See Nancy | 3:32 |
| 3. | Jericho | 4:53 |
| 4. | Torbjørn Bjellands Bruremarsj | 5:15 |
| 5. | Hop High | 5:07 |
| 6. | Jake’s Got the Bellyache | 5:57 |
| 7. | I Am A Pilgrim | 7:02 |
| 8. | Ma’s Maw | 6:45 |
| 9. | Poor Little Mary Sitting in the Corner | 5:20 |
| 10. | Father Made of River Mud | 5:53 |
Credits
CREDITS
Arranged, produced and recorded by Laurel Premo.
Percussive Dance tracked at Troubadour Recording Studios.
Khartal recording engineered by Eric Breton.
Mixed by Joe DeJarnette at Studio 808.
Mastered by Amy Dragon at Telegraph Audio.
Illustration ©2021 by Brianne Farley. Portrait by Harpe Star.
Published by Laurel Premo (BMI) All rights reserved
“Father Made of River Mud”, “Ma’s Maw”, and ”Jericho” written by Laurel Premo, all others are arrangements of traditional material with new music added. Sources noted in Historical Roots.
Laurel Premo - Guitar, Lap Steel, Vocals
Nic Gareiss - Percussive Dance, “Hop High” & “Poor Little Mary”
Eric Breton - Khartal, “Jericho”
HISTORICAL ROOTS
Calloway - traditional, Lee Hammons (WV, USA)
On My Way To See Nancy - traditional, Edden Hammons (WV, USA)
Jericho - Laurel Premo
Torbjørn Bjellands Bruremarsj - traditional (NOR) wedding march after Torbjørn Bjelland, learned from Wisconsin sources.
Hop High My Lulu Gal - traditional, also known as Roustabout. Earliest melody and lyric fragments from Dink Roberts (NC, USA) and Fred Cockerham (NC), and likely from other black banjo players from VA prior to Mr. Roberts.
Jake’s Got The Bellyache - traditional, Edden Hammons (WV, USA)
I Am A Pilgrim - gospel hymn (USA) first documented in the mid-19th century. This arrangement combines lyric elements from I Am A Pilgrim, Poor Wayfaring Stranger (Sacred Harp 457), and No Depression in Heaven (Carter Family), with additional lyrics by Laurel Premo.
Ma’s Maw - Laurel Premo
Poor Little Mary Sitting In The Corner - traditional, Enos Canoy (MS, USA)
Father Made Of River Mud - Laurel Premo
License
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Laurel Premo is known for her rhythmically deep and rapt delivery of roots music. Solo performances reveal bloom of underlying harmonic drones, minimalist repetition, and rich polyrhythms. Presenting these sounds on finger style electric guitar, lap steel, fiddle, and voice, Premo fully leans in to the archaic melodies and in-between intonations that connect folk sounds to the mystic and unknown.