Black Prairie Follows Breakout Year with Cinematic, Hard Edged

Black Prairie's third full-length record Fortune will be released on April 22nd via Sugar Hill Records. The album proves the band has outgrown its roots as a casual side-project of indie folk band The Decemberists, solidifying into a primary, creative focus for its members-a band with its own internal momentum, genuine character and style. "Making this record was the most collaborative and magical thing," says founder Chris Funk. "I'm excited to play these songs live."
Black Prairie's music has been described as "the musical spirit that emanated from Big Pink in the late '60" (Washington Post) and somewhere "between John Ford and David Lynch, homespun tales with sinister sub-plots" (Uncut), but Fortune is an unexpected departure. This group of accomplished musicians from Portland, Oregon - each steeped in traditional American acoustic music - has written what is essentially a rock record, and sometimes with a pretty hard edge. (The band sometimes performs around Portland as their 'electric' alter ego 'White Tundra,' complete with an 8-foot, handmade robotic Yeti -- it stood in the studio inspiring the band as they recorded this set of songs.)
"Let's make it sound more broken!" became the battle cry in the studio from Fortune's producer, Grammy-winning engineer Vance Powell, whose work with The Dead Weather and Red Fang the band especially loved.
"We're a much more fearless writing team now," says bassist Nate Query, who can trace Fortune's sound to the night the band saw frontwoman Annalisa Tornfelt perform Led Zeppelin's "The Song Remains the Same." "She tore the roof off it," Funk remembers. The band discovered a whole new, blaring dimension to their fiddle-player's voice, and inevitably that energy started inflecting the songs they were writing.
Inspiration and ideas ricocheted off everyone, pinball-like, and often at the oddest angles. Writing the lyric to Funk's riff, "The White Tundra," Tornfelt incorporated lines from a poem by Funk's wife, Seann McKeel, and psychedelic stories about ethereal wolves from a book of Norse mythology that accordionist Jenny Conlee had read Tornfelt to sleep with in their hotel room every night on tour. Conlee's song "Trask," about a late 19th century Oregon fur trapper, came in as a straight ragtime number until Funk suggested remaining it, amping it up into a grinding, punk romp. The pop country gem "Kiss of Fate" is John Moen's melody and Chris Funk's tale of a couple kissing on the sidewalk, surrounded by rats.
Black Prairie may look like a bluegrass or folk band, but their tastes and repertoire are much more expansive. There is a fierce emphasis on musicianship, Powell says, but otherwise: "They're genre-less. They're not afraid of anything."
Tags : black prairie black prairie fortune
Hot Trends
-
“Shout To The Lord” by House of Worship Featuring Cece Winans & Darlene Zschech Releases Aug 22
-
Forrest Frank & Crowder Release New Collab “The Rock”
-
Ross King Mourns the Loss of His Wife Staci After Courageous Battle with Cancer
-
The Choir Room Unites CCM, Gospel, and Worship on New Album "Love Never Fails"
-
Chris Rice Maintains Public Silence Following Abuse Allegations; Focuses on Writing and Speaking
-
John Allan Reveals “Heaven Secrets” Ahead of Debut EP Set to Release Oct. 24
-
Here Are the Lyrics to Martin Smith's "Joy (What The World Calls Foolish)"
-
Hillsong's Marty Sampson's Startling Revelations About Brian Houston & His Own Marriage
-
Lecrae Releases "Reconstruction," Announces Global Tour
-
Author and Pastor Juan Martinez Opens Up About How God Turned His Life Around from Drugs and Crime
-
Franni Cash Writes and Performs Original Song for Upcoming Film "Hazel"
-
Matthew West Signs Booking Deal with The Neal Agency
-
Lysa TerKeurst Remarries Two Years After Divorce
-
The History of “Shout to the Lord” and Its Upcoming Reimagined Release Featuring CeCe Winans
-
Recent Accident Inspires Forrest Frank’s New Single "Lemonade (feat. The Figs)"
Most Popular
-
“Shout To The Lord” by House of Worship Featuring Cece Winans & Darlene Zschech Releases Aug 22
-
Forrest Frank & Crowder Release New Collab “The Rock”
-
Ross King Mourns the Loss of His Wife Staci After Courageous Battle with Cancer
-
The Choir Room Unites CCM, Gospel, and Worship on New Album "Love Never Fails"
-
Chris Rice Maintains Public Silence Following Abuse Allegations; Focuses on Writing and Speaking
-
John Allan Reveals “Heaven Secrets” Ahead of Debut EP Set to Release Oct. 24
-
Here Are the Lyrics to Martin Smith's "Joy (What The World Calls Foolish)"
-
Hillsong's Marty Sampson's Startling Revelations About Brian Houston & His Own Marriage
-
Lecrae Releases "Reconstruction," Announces Global Tour
-
Author and Pastor Juan Martinez Opens Up About How God Turned His Life Around from Drugs and Crime
-
Franni Cash Writes and Performs Original Song for Upcoming Film "Hazel"
-
Matthew West Signs Booking Deal with The Neal Agency
-
Lysa TerKeurst Remarries Two Years After Divorce
-
The History of “Shout to the Lord” and Its Upcoming Reimagined Release Featuring CeCe Winans
-
Recent Accident Inspires Forrest Frank’s New Single "Lemonade (feat. The Figs)"