Since his solo debut with the album Safe House Stories In 2008, the singer and guitarist Hugh Coltman occupies a niche, to say the least: this British individual makes a career in France, where he resides, transmitting his obsession with a musical imaginary anchored in America, which he interprets. blues (previously he was a husky voice and harmonica player for the group The Hoax), folk, country, rock’n’roll or R’n’B. A varied record that curiously makes him compete at the Victoires du jazz, where he was awarded twice as “voice of the year” in 2017 for the album. Shadows – Songs by Nat King Coletribute to the American singer, later in 2023.
The long-inflated vocalist succumbed to the charms of New Orleans and recorded the album with his guitarist accomplice Matthis Pascaud. night tripa celebration of the swamp wizard Dr. John (1941-2019), which followed Who is happy? (2018), captured in an old Presbyterian temple in the Louisiana city. However, after this pilgrimage of achievement in the crucible of the music he loves, Hugh Coltman ran out of ideas.
that is no mystery good grievancetheir fourth album of original songs released at the end of August and performed on tour. But the title suggests that“something bad is good”as the saying goes. “I had to mourn the loss of my father and my photographer friend Marc Obin, but also of a way of lifeexplains Hugh Coltman. And a health problem showed me that I was not immaculate even though I had behaved like a great teenager until I was 47 years old. Accepting this was a relief, I no longer had to fight the inevitable. To express this, I was inspired by this biting and dry writing, with a touch of humor, common to Bob Dylan and Loudon Wainwright III. »
Direct recordings
Coltman thus addresses the midlife crisis with tone in Midlife crisisor expresses his surprise at the moment with keyboard warriorsdedicated to Internet trolls, whose aggressiveness is fueled by anonymity. To write, he moved away from all the hustle and bustle of a house in Drôme, without, however, being able to recharge his batteries: “You arrive, leave your suitcases on the floor and continue in front of yourself…”
As for the sound, the guy has long been convinced that the best drinks are made in old jugs. He uses, therefore, methods taken from the cabinet of curiosities of Tom Waits, Daniel Lanois, the Canadian producer who put Dylan back in the saddle at the end of the 1980s, or Joe Henry, the dandy of American music. The recordings were made directly with all the musicians in the La Frette-sur-Seine studios (Val-d’Oise): “I wanted the music to be as raw as the lyrics. It was necessary to give space to these songs that were born with six strings stretched over a piece of wood. I no longer feel obligated to prove anything with my voice, what also matters is what I don’t sing. »
You have 34.42% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
