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Jonathan Wilson plus guests
Warm, supple melodies etched in layers of stringed instruments and willowy organ motifs accompany his earnest, North Carolinian drawl as he tells tales of humane values lost and found.
Wilson's music is steeped equally in the woodsy contours of his Blue Ridge experiences and the atmospheric guitar reveries of Neil Young and Quicksilver Messenger Service. In fact, "Gentle Spirit," an expansive double vinyl set, is remarkably evocative of that golden late '60s, early '70s period when rural and urban sensibilities colluded in producing some of rock's most imperishable recordings.
Wilson, a native of Forest City, North Carolina, has been quietly earning a reputation as a musical jack-of-all-trades. He is adept behind the recording console, possesses a luthier's knowledge of all things strummed, and maintains the innate ability to conceptualize an instrument essential to providing theright color to a track in need of a defining detail. Whether working with promising new recording artists like the band Dawes, contemporary artists, such as Erykah Badu and Elvis Costello, or Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Jackson Browne, and Robbie Robertson, Wilson, a tall, slim, long-haired presence, provides direction and support as tasty and soulful as anyone in the business today.
It should then come as no surprise that Wilson, so resolutely committed to "old school" musical values, began recording "Gentle Spirit" in Los Angeles's fabled Laurel Canyon. As a longtime student of "Canyon culture," his ideas echo many of an earlier generation as the album embraces a unique blend of folk, country, rock and roll and pop elements, which enduringly create a sense of time and place.
While writing and recording "Gentle Spirit", "I was consciously trying to hit, 'dreary day in the canyon,' that was the original concept," admits Wilson. "That was what it was supposed to be. I feel like I achieved that. But, you have to remember the album took a long time, the tracking was done a while ago, and there's a distance there that I guess was supposed to happen. And it's not hot off the tape machine. Things transpired. That, to me, is a good thing because there is a perspective on display. I can be detached; and whether this characteristic does this or that, it doesn't affect me to the greater good of the album."
"I loved living and recording in Laurel Canyon," he reflects. "I wasn't trying to find a sound of yore or duplicate any guitar sounds ala Buffalo Springfield or Crazy Horse. But what ends up happening is that the vocal harmony on the album does have a certain type of a tonality and that indeed is the sound of the canyon."
Wilson currently maintains his recording studio, Five Star Studio, in Echo Park, Los Angeles, which he relocated from its original location in Laurel Canyon in 2009. The space is renowned for its sound and analog recording equipment. In 2010, Wilson produced and collaborated with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy on a series of songs for release on Spiritual Pajamas Records, a boutique 7" label associated with Folk Yeah Presents. Wilson co-produced and played on the new solo record by J. Tillman of the Fleet Foxes which was mixed by Phil Ek, whose album credits include Built to Spill, Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, Modest Mouse, The Shins, etc. Wilson recorded and produced Dawes' debut album, North Hills, at his Laurel Canyon studio. Wilson recorded and produced Dawes' second album, Nothing Is Wrong, in 2010 at Five Star Studio. As part of Wilson's project, What You Need Is What You Have, The Songs of Roy Harper, Wilson has produced songs performed by Will Oldham, Andy Cabic, Chris Robinson, Benji Hughes, Dawes, Jenny O., Johnathan Rice, Josh Tillman, and others. Wilson also produced Jason Boesel's album, Hustler's Son, and Mia Doi Todd's album, Cosmic Ocean Ship. Wilson has also recorded and/or produced many other artists in his studio, including Gerald Johnson, James Gadson, and Josh Tillman.
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LocationHaven Underground (View)
226 Broad St
Nevada City, CA 95959
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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