Dirtwire, the genre-bending, world-instrument-wielding trio of Californian musicians announce their new album Electric River out now! (order here).
Lifelong friends and musicians Evan Fraser, David Satori, and Mark Reveley have found that their music is a collaborative celebration of the planet’s musical diversity, and a combination of composition, improvisation, and psychedelics. Dirtwire comments, “We have been using psilocybin mushrooms as a tool to open ourselves to other dimensions of sounds and creativity since the first recording Dirtwire ever made. We feel it’s time to tell this story and are very excited to see that there is a change going on in the collective consciousness in terms of how we relate to plant medicine.”
Electric River was recorded at Boulder Mountain Studio located at the Boulder Mountain Guest Ranch and owned by Ron Johnson and Brandie Hardman. The studio is nestled deep in the wilderness of Southern Utah. Dirtwire reflects, “At Boulder Mountain studio we were able to mix on an API 1608 board, it changes the way you balance and EQ everything, and definitely changes the sound of the record. There is sonic magic that comes from high end analog gear which is pretty undeniable.”
The 10 track deep album is stacked with standouts and sounds from an array of instruments to create the classic African ngoni and jawharp plucking, harmonica, electric guitar slinging, violin and banjo bowing, blues singing, Siberian ghostcatcher playing trio of cowboys signature sound. Standouts include, “Talking Bird” featuring traditional Gabon musician Mbilou on mongongo (mouth bow) and U.K. vocalists Aya (sister duo comprised of Bes and Jayna Cavendish). Dirtwire comments, “it is an upbeat, deep African Congo jungle vibrations, in a dancefloor groove, where 100% of the track’s sales are going to Mbilou’s Bwiti tribe in Gabon.” “Cannonball” “is a dirty cigar box, harmonica, violin, whamola, blues-beat-stomper that tells the story of a love you just can’t kick, but you’re not sure you even want to. You know you should, and so you try to leave em, but you cant cause its too good and then you’re just like ah screw it let’s go catch a movie,” says Dirtwire of the upcoming song.
“Strength in One” features Trevor Hall and was created prior to their Spring tour; for Dirtwire, “it is a call to us all to stand in power and find new ways to heal ourselves and the Earth we live on.” “Seem to Freeze” features the vocals and intimate and vulnerable songwriting of Emma Lucia with dreamy Dirtwire production. “Psyloon” is one of the songs named from their time at Boulder Mountain, named after the performance space, Dirtwire recalls, “We finished the record at the same time as we threw a show and workshop at the ranch, and feel that the record was strongly influenced by our time there, as well as the community.” The other song named from Boulder Mountain is “Datura” a powerful plant that grows there, and very dangerous to ingest. And there is a tribute, both visually and musically, to Maria Sabina who introduced psychedelic mushrooms to the West aptly named “Sabina.”
Electric River is accompanied by the mesmerizing album cover, a portrait of Maria Sabina designed by well-known visionary artist Carey Thompson. Dirtwire comments “María Sabina was a Mexican curandera, or native shaman, and allowed Westerners to participate in the healing vigil — velada ceremony by ingesting psilocybin mushrooms as a sacrament to open the gates of the mind. We wanted to capture a name for that magic that is the psychedelic experience and we decided on Electric River.”
The most potent of Dirtwire’s artistic prowess is evident in their live shows, a spectacle that transforms the undeniable energy of their music to a 3-D experience. The band recently kicked off the West Coast leg of their Electric River Tour with an explosive show at Seventh Mountain in Bend, Oregon. See below for a full list of tour dates and catch them performing Electric River, along with fan favorites, live at a show near you.
Electric River Track Listing:
“Talking Bird” Ft. Mbilou & Aya
“Cannonball”
“The Eagle And The Condor”
“Seem To Freez” Ft. Emma Lucia
“Datura”
“Strength In One” Ft. Trevor Hall
“Psyloon”
“Sabina”
“Deep Playa”
“Ali”
Tour Dates
Friday, October 18 @ Pappy and Harriets Pioneertown, CA
Saturday, October 19 @ EOS Lounge Santa Barbara, CA
Thursday, October 24 @ Waverly Cumberland, BC
Friday, October 25 @ Capital Ballroom Victoria, BC
Saturday, October 26 @ Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC
Thursday, October 31 @ Music Box San Diego, CA
Thursday, November 7 @ The Masquerade – Purgatory Atlanta, GA
Friday, November 8 @ Basement East Nashville, TN
Saturday, November 9 @ Grey Eagle Asheville, NC
Saturday, November 16 @ Miners Foundry Cultural Center Nevada City, CA
Saturday, November 30 @ Teragram Ballroom Los Angeles, CA
Thursday December 12 @ Belly Up Aspen, CO
Friday, December 13 @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO
Saturday, December 14 @ Aggie Theatre Fort Collins, CO
