This morning we are delighted to welcome Duluth-based violinist, Gaelynn Lea. She chooses an easy breezy Sunday morning playlist in collaboration with MailTape.
She plays a mix of traditional and original tunes on her violin, which is layered using a live-looping pedal. And if that wasn't enough, she's a spellbinding singer with a real knack for the lyric and an uncanny understanding of how to conjure a mood.
Gaelynn Lea’s selection
Jerree Small – 60 Words For Water
Gaelynn Lea: ” The perfect Sunday morning song to me is upbeat but not too rocking, and also not too sappy. It should leave you feeling calm, happy, refreshed and with the desire to press “repeat”… 60 Words for Water is all of these things to me. Jerree Small is a musician from my hometown of Duluth, Minnesota, and I absolutely love her songwriting and her vocals… I hope she keeps making music forever. “
The Decemberists – Angel, Won’t You Call Me?
Gaelynn Lea: ” When I was in college I was a die-hard Decemberists fan—in fact, I attribute my love of lyrics to Colin Meloy’s songwriting. This track is from their first-ever release called “5 songs” that came out in 2001. I just think it’s such a light-hearted, easy-breezy song and I would love to wake up to it on a Sunday morning. “
Charlie Parr – Gospel Plow
Gaelynn Lea: ” My hometown has a small but incredibly vibrant music scene that I didn’t really know existed while I was growing up. But I DID know about Charlie Parr. He’s this amazing blues/roots/country artist from Duluth who has subsequently gone on to tour all over the world. He is incredibly talented and also just one of the kindest, gentlest people you’ll ever meet. This is one of his more upbeat songs and the gospel vibe makes it a good song to wake up to on a Sunday morning! “
MailTape’s selection
Gaelynn Lea – Bound By A Thread
Sanjay: ” This arrangement includes wonderfully layered textures of violin, augmented by the spare but moving contributions of keyboard, guitar, drums and bass. Gaelynn’s voice hovers above the music which builds slowly and carefully. “
Diane Cluck – Sara
Sanjay: ” Set to an ominous template, Diane’s soft and warbling voice sits alongside acoustic guitars that circle minor chords and pentatonic progressions. A great reminder that sometimes less is more. “
Buffy Sainte-Marie – Now That The Buffalo’s Gone
Sanjay: ” A simple arrangement but a very important statement. This song, released in 1964, tears at the heart of the American dream—opportunity, justice, capitalism, freedom—by reminding the country (as well as Europe) of its historical and continuing colonisation of stolen land and its brutal treatment of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. “
Trio Da Kali – Yirimadjo
Sanjay: ” And we finish this tape with three of Mali’s finest musicians, performing collectively as Trio Da Kali. Between the balafon, ngoni and Hawa Kassé Mady’s powerful voice, they switch from gently rippling passages to rapid-fire solos to pulsating bass lines that underpin much of the songs. “
That’s all for this morning. Thanks for listening and much love and gratitude to Gaelynn Lea for being our guest today, and to Pierre-Julien Fieux for this episode’s illustration!
