Yet again we have another offering from the studio of Dan Emery where he invites someone from the bluegrass/country scene to the backyard to record under his magnolia tree with just the insects for company. There is something very special about this series as there is no room to hide for the musician, it is raw and vibrant and is exactly what one might expect to hear gathered around a campfire at the end of the day. Here Tyler came with a knapsack full of songs, his voice and an acoustic guitar, and it was down to Dan to capture what happened that night. As Dan says, “Tyler was one of very few artists to come and pretty much record everything in one solid pass. He only retook one song, and we ended up not even using that take. All the songs were recorded in the order that they are presented here. The session was basically exactly how it runs on the release, with only a few seconds of dead time cut between some songs to keep the pace. Sessions like Tyler’s are the ones that remind me of the reason I started doing this series. To present honest art in its most raw stripped-down nature.”

“Honest art”, I love that as a description as that is the absolute perfect way of describing what happens in front of that old tree, as there is nothing false or reimagined here, no room for autotune or session musicians, plasticity or any of the other failings of much of the modern music scene but instead just a travelling troubadour selling his wares. This series of releases has long been an essential favourite of mine in the way it introduces so many musicians to a reflective way of recording which allows them to shine, yet never with any room to hide. One cannot imagine many “pop stars” to allow themselves to be recorded this raw with no studio trickery or dance moves to take away from the performance, yet here we have had one artist after another braving the mosquitos to share a very special experience with us all. Tyler’s songs and voice are a delight, bringing us in and taking us on a journey, where all that exists in the world is his picked acoustic and his voice. Yet another valuable addition to the collection and long may Dan continue in this vein.

Rating: 8/10

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/TylerFigginHood/
https://anticorporatemusic.com