“Folk People,” Garry Eister, 2019
Microfest Records has released Folk People, a new album by grammy-nominated composer and performer Garry Eister. Folk People is a collection of original songs in the genre of post-modern folk music.
On the surface, Eister’s compositions chronicle events we generally associate with folk music — the stories, tribulations, and adventures of ordinary people. We hear songs of courtship, of laments and lullabies, and of the adventures of sailors. The final song on the album is a powerful piece based on excerpts from the autobiography of the fiery labor leader, humanist, and self-described “hell raiser,” Mary Jones (aka “Mother Jones”).
Eister brings a post modern approach to the songs of Folk People. His voice is polished and beautifully controlled. His guitar work complements the lyrics, and he shows perfect restraint in his accompaniment, so that his playing supports the overall feeling of each piece — a wonderful balance of simplicity and skill. His abilities as a lyricist are on full display. Some of the pieces made me laugh out loud; others were heart-rending in their brutal clarity.
For this project, Eister played an unusual instrument, a metal resonator guitar that has been re-fretted to create the pure (i.e. mathematically-derived) intervals of just-intonation.*
The difference in tuning can be jarring at first, but we quickly realize that, like every other choice Eister has made in this project, the notes we hear support the overall mood of the work. Listen more than once; listen often. Let Folk People transport you to a different world.
Microfest Records is part of Naxos Records distribution, and Naxos has put the entire album on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m9-D_tIbFSSFPFEYMhSYVZId1gTN0CB3I
For more information, including liner notes, please visit: https://microfestrecords.com/folk-people/
For more information about Garry Eister, please visit his website: http://eistermusic.com.
*just-intonation is subtly different from what we’re used to hearing in modern instruments, which are actually detuned slightly so that corresponding musical intervals in different keys sound the same. We call this more familiar approach “well-tempered.”