The Moonshine Sessions are the brainchild of one Phillipe Cohen Solal, better known as founding member of Gotan Project. While definable as an electronic act, Gotan Project’s music has always featured folk and acoustic traditions, most notably Argentinian tango. The Moonshine Sessions, however, flips the modus operandi. Play this to any fan of contemporary country music and there is little here that would make them think this is anything other than a new up and comer in that field. In purely aesthetic terms, the music is pretty, often melodically engaging and features the traditional arsenal of acoustic guitars, fiddles and banjos – all recorded with pristine quality by collaborator, engineer, studio owner and former Bob Dylan sidekick Bucky Baxter. It is mostly laid-back, milking mournful harmonica and wailing pedal steels for all they’re worth. The songs are sung by an array of session singers, many in the contemporary twang that has become the cliche and which can be off-putting. The songs are well written, though generally sticking to established lyrical and structural patterns. Of particular note are two covers – Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’ and The Sex Pistol’s ‘Pretty Vacant’, turning both into bluegrass anthems. The latter, in particular, sung by Rosie Flores, turns the original on its head – the sweet female voice crooning ‘We’re so pretty, oh so pretty’ adds another layer of irony which is particularly potent in the current era of the ubiquity of image over actual music.
An electronic DJ and producer is what Solal is, and the methods associated with that are apparent, even if much more subtle. Rather than rely on samples, he simply writes musical quotes into the fabric of the playing. Album opener ‘The Academy Of Trust’s features riffs so complete that the quoted ‘Needle And The Damage Done’ by Neil Young is unavoidable. Solal cites his love of country and bluegrass as beginning with Young’s Harvest album, and this is the samplist’s way of acknowledging that debt. ‘Fade Away’ is built on a minor acoustic guitar riff from Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway To Heaven’ and ends with what sounds like a sample of an old spiritual fading in but is obviously a new recording. Tracks are also interspersed with field recordings – crickets chirping, studio banter etc. These seem a little tacked on as they never add texture to the bulk of each track but are faded in and out. The album ends with 12 minutes of night time atmosphere, and it is here that the regular country fan may start to ask some questions. But the album is, ultimately, of the country tradition – Solal’s electronic roots probably only noticeable to those searching for them.
Whether or not The Moonshine Sessions adds anything lasting to the established canon of country and bluegrass is debatable, as is whether Solal’s usual electronic leaning audience will get through 12 tracks of Nashville crooning. But in and of itself, this is a successful and likeable album.
Adrian Elmer
