Eckman

Chris Eckman has come a long way since his beginnings with The Walkabouts in Seattle many moons ago. These days he lives in Ljubljana and when not producing the very fine desert blues of Tamikrest he has become somewhat of a musical sage producing atmospheric soundscapes and lecturing on the nature of music in various communities. With his finger in many pies it's gratifying to have a new bona fide solo effort and one which celebrates a classic American landscape. Location and atmosphere have always been a strong suite for Eckman with his middle European sojourns soaking up the mysteries and histories of bruised survivors of the 20th Century ranging from Germany to the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

„It's not clear who provides the distance, the light, or the sky in this collaboration between, Chris Eckman (of The Walkabouts), Chantal Acda (Sleepingdog, True Bypass) and avant jazz percussionist Eric Thielemans (of EARR Ensemble), but the trio is beautifully balanced“ said Uncut Magazine about Distance, Light & Sky's debut album “Casting Nets” (Glitterhouse Records, 2014). „This is a low-key beautiful record; hushed and patient, it waits for the listener to take it into their heart“ praised Americana UK in its February issue of 2015. The new album entitled “Gold Coast” shares a couple of things with its predecessor as Chris Eckman knows: „We again recorded the album with our friend Phill Brown at Sono Studios outside of Prague. Phill has one of the most incredible recording histories of anyone from the rock music era, having been involved with records by The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Roxy Music, Talk Talk (yes, the classic “late period” ones), Beth Gibbons and many more.

The electronic musical project Dirtmusic is probably the only time that the tag “world music” may be used in the 21st century without sounding pretentious or pejorative. Lion City, the group’s second album in 12 months, is a rich, expansive album that is worldly in every sense of the word. Lion City is a rich and fully integrative experience that adapts cultural and musical differences between Mali, Australia, and the United States.