Carolina Chocolate Drops / Luminescent Orchestrii

Submitted by nonesuch on
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

This four-song collaboration between Carolina Chocolate Drops and the New York–based gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii was inspired by a spontaneous set together at the Folk Alliance festival in Memphis that Lumi guitarist Sxip Shirey described as “magic." Joining the bands on the EP is human beatboxer Adam Matta. No Depression says "the good times are palpable on this disc, starting from the very first notes."

Description

Nonesuch releases its second record from North Carolina-based string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops—a four-song EP—on January 25. The record is a collaboration with the New York City–based Romanian gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii; it was co-produced by that group’s sound engineer, Joseph “Bass” DeJarnette, with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Luminescent Orchestrii.

The project began when both the Luminescent Orchestrii and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, longtime admirers of each others’ music, were performing at the Folk Alliance festival in Memphis, Tennessee. Every day in Memphis, the Lumiis would set up in the hall and do a short set for the passersby. One day the Lumiis’ Sxip Shirey noticed that the Drops’ Rhiannon Giddens was watching and asked her to join them. What followed was “magic … one of those rare festival moments that never happens again,” as Shirey said.

The Chocolate Drops were soon invited to Brooklyn to join the Luminescent Orchestrii and their friend human beatboxer Adam Matta to record “Knockin’,” from the Lumiis’ record Too Hot to Sleep, and Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ’Em Up Style,” which was on the Drops’ album Genuine Negro Jig. Next the Lumiis and Matta went down to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to record a new version of the Sam Morgan jazz classic “Short Dress Gal” and the Lumii song “Escoutas (Diga Diga Diga).” These four songs comprise Carolina Chocolate Drops / Luminescent Orchestrii.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops formed after band members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson met at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, North Carolina, in 2005; they have toured continuously since the band’s inception. All three trained in the Piedmont banjo and fiddle musical tradition under the tutelage of Joe Thompson. The members come from diverse musical backgrounds, sharing singing duties and swapping instruments throughout their sets. Flemons has immersed himself in the music of the past, with a prodigious record collection and an immense knowledge of the different playing styles of the blues, country, and string band traditions. In addition to her work with Joe Thompson, Giddens—a Piedmont native—studied opera at Oberlin Conservatory, performs with a Celtic band and is also an avid contra dancer and caller. Robinson, the group’s main fiddler, also plays banjo; he grew up in a house full of musicians—his mother is a classically trained opera singer and cellist, his sister a classical pianist and his grandfather a harmonica player.

The Luminescent Orchestrii’s music features Romanian gypsy melodies, punk frenzy, salty tangos, hard-rocking klezmer, haunting Balkan harmony, hip-hop beats, and Appalachian fiddle, all eaten and spit out by two violins, resophonic guitar, bullhorn harmonica, and bass. The band members are from different scenes in New York City, yet come together through their love of Balkan and Gypsy music. Sxip Shirey is an international circus composer, Sarah Alden is an old-time fiddle player, Rima Fand is an experimental theater composer, and Benjy Fox-Rosen is a free-jazz bassist. It is not uncommon to find Shirey playing with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, Fand composing music for a Lorca puppet show, Fox-Rosen at a jazz gig, or Alden fiddling away at an all-night old-time session. Since 2002, when the band was formed, the Luminescent Orchestrii has toured the East Coast, England, Scotland, and Germany.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Joseph “Bass” DeJarnette with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Luminescent Orchestrii
Tracks 1, 2 recorded at Studio 808A, Brooklyn, NY
Tracks 3, 4 recorded at John Wilson’s SPOT Recording Studio, Winston-Salem, NC
All tracks recorded absolutely live with no overdubbing or other artificial sweeteners.
Tracked, edited and mixed by Joseph DeJarnette
Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering, Boston, MA
Assistant Mastering Engineer: Maria Rice

Written by (1) Sam Morgan/Barry Martyn, with additional lyrics by Dom Flemons/Rhiannon Giddens/Adam Matta/Sxip Shirey; (2) lyrics Traditional; Sarah Alden/Sxip Shirey/Luminescent Orchestrii; (3) Dallas Austin; (4) Sxip Shirey/Rima Fand.

Nonesuch Selection Number

526130

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
FormatRestrictions

This album is available from Nonesuch in the world outside of France.

Album Status
Artist Name
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Luminescent Orchestrii
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Dom Flemons, vocal (1), handclaps (2), 4-string banjo (3), bones (4)
Rhiannon Giddens, vocal (1-4), banjo (2), fiddle (3, 4)
Adam Matta, rap (1), vocal percussion/beatbox (1, 2, 4), handclaps (2), vocal trumpet (2), 2nd beatbox (3)
Sxip Shirey, guitar (1, 2, 4), “bullhorn” harmonica (3)
Sarah Alden, lead fiddle (1), background vocal (1, 4), vocal (2), fiddle (2-4)
Rima Fand, fiddle (1-4), background vocal (1, 4), vocal (2)
Justin Robinson, fiddle (1, 2), background vocal (1), beatbox (3)
Benjy Fox Rosen, bass (1-4), vocal (2)

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597977998BUN
Label
MP3
Price
4.00
UPC
075597977127
Label
Vinyl 10"+MP3
UPC
075597977981BUN
  • 526130

News & Reviews

  • The new series My Music with Rhiannon Giddens premiered on PBS stations across the US this week. In the inaugural episode, Rhiannon Giddens visits with three lifelong friends: Justin Robinson, one of her fellow Carolina Chocolate Drops co-founders; her sister, singer Lalenja Harrington; and singer-songwriter Laurelyn Dossett. You can watch it here.

  • Rhiannon Giddens and the Carolina Chocolate Drops will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame this October. "I'm so honored to be part of the 2016 class of inductees into the NC Music Hall of Fame," says Giddens. "Being from North Carolina has been such a big part of what I do and will remain so for the rest of my life; being a mentee of Joe Thompson and starting the Carolina Chocolate Drops along with Dom Flemons and Justin Robinson are among the things of my life that I am most proud of. Happy to be in such good company as the Avett Brothers, David Holt, my fellow Chocolate Drops, and other fine musicians. Carolina forever!"

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    Nonesuch releases its second record from North Carolina-based string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops—a four-song EP—on January 25. The record is a collaboration with the New York City–based Romanian gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii; it was co-produced by that group’s sound engineer, Joseph “Bass” DeJarnette, with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Luminescent Orchestrii.

    The project began when both the Luminescent Orchestrii and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, longtime admirers of each others’ music, were performing at the Folk Alliance festival in Memphis, Tennessee. Every day in Memphis, the Lumiis would set up in the hall and do a short set for the passersby. One day the Lumiis’ Sxip Shirey noticed that the Drops’ Rhiannon Giddens was watching and asked her to join them. What followed was “magic … one of those rare festival moments that never happens again,” as Shirey said.

    The Chocolate Drops were soon invited to Brooklyn to join the Luminescent Orchestrii and their friend human beatboxer Adam Matta to record “Knockin’,” from the Lumiis’ record Too Hot to Sleep, and Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ’Em Up Style,” which was on the Drops’ album Genuine Negro Jig. Next the Lumiis and Matta went down to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to record a new version of the Sam Morgan jazz classic “Short Dress Gal” and the Lumii song “Escoutas (Diga Diga Diga).” These four songs comprise Carolina Chocolate Drops / Luminescent Orchestrii.

    The Carolina Chocolate Drops formed after band members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson met at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, North Carolina, in 2005; they have toured continuously since the band’s inception. All three trained in the Piedmont banjo and fiddle musical tradition under the tutelage of Joe Thompson. The members come from diverse musical backgrounds, sharing singing duties and swapping instruments throughout their sets. Flemons has immersed himself in the music of the past, with a prodigious record collection and an immense knowledge of the different playing styles of the blues, country, and string band traditions. In addition to her work with Joe Thompson, Giddens—a Piedmont native—studied opera at Oberlin Conservatory, performs with a Celtic band and is also an avid contra dancer and caller. Robinson, the group’s main fiddler, also plays banjo; he grew up in a house full of musicians—his mother is a classically trained opera singer and cellist, his sister a classical pianist and his grandfather a harmonica player.

    The Luminescent Orchestrii’s music features Romanian gypsy melodies, punk frenzy, salty tangos, hard-rocking klezmer, haunting Balkan harmony, hip-hop beats, and Appalachian fiddle, all eaten and spit out by two violins, resophonic guitar, bullhorn harmonica, and bass. The band members are from different scenes in New York City, yet come together through their love of Balkan and Gypsy music. Sxip Shirey is an international circus composer, Sarah Alden is an old-time fiddle player, Rima Fand is an experimental theater composer, and Benjy Fox-Rosen is a free-jazz bassist. It is not uncommon to find Shirey playing with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, Fand composing music for a Lorca puppet show, Fox-Rosen at a jazz gig, or Alden fiddling away at an all-night old-time session. Since 2002, when the band was formed, the Luminescent Orchestrii has toured the East Coast, England, Scotland, and Germany.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Dom Flemons, vocal (1), handclaps (2), 4-string banjo (3), bones (4)
    Rhiannon Giddens, vocal (1-4), banjo (2), fiddle (3, 4)
    Adam Matta, rap (1), vocal percussion/beatbox (1, 2, 4), handclaps (2), vocal trumpet (2), 2nd beatbox (3)
    Sxip Shirey, guitar (1, 2, 4), “bullhorn” harmonica (3)
    Sarah Alden, lead fiddle (1), background vocal (1, 4), vocal (2), fiddle (2-4)
    Rima Fand, fiddle (1-4), background vocal (1, 4), vocal (2)
    Justin Robinson, fiddle (1, 2), background vocal (1), beatbox (3)
    Benjy Fox Rosen, bass (1-4), vocal (2)

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Joseph “Bass” DeJarnette with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Luminescent Orchestrii
    Tracks 1, 2 recorded at Studio 808A, Brooklyn, NY
    Tracks 3, 4 recorded at John Wilson’s SPOT Recording Studio, Winston-Salem, NC
    All tracks recorded absolutely live with no overdubbing or other artificial sweeteners.
    Tracked, edited and mixed by Joseph DeJarnette
    Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering, Boston, MA
    Assistant Mastering Engineer: Maria Rice

    Written by (1) Sam Morgan/Barry Martyn, with additional lyrics by Dom Flemons/Rhiannon Giddens/Adam Matta/Sxip Shirey; (2) lyrics Traditional; Sarah Alden/Sxip Shirey/Luminescent Orchestrii; (3) Dallas Austin; (4) Sxip Shirey/Rima Fand.

  • Format Availability

    This album is available from Nonesuch in the world outside of France.