Recording: Nashville Minimalism Unit

Artist: Nashville Minimalism Unit

Song: Flinting

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Cosmic Country for Communists), February 6, 2019.

Nashville Minimalism Unit - Flinting

Expanding its numbers once again, Kurt Newman's Nashville Minimalism Unit stood seven deep this time 'round, with Newman on pedal steel joined by Kathleen Law (fiddle), Ryan Driver (synth), Mike Smith (bass), Brian Abbott (fretless microtonal guitar), Nick Fraser (drums) and Blake Howard (percussion). Law was drafted in from the stringband scene, but the remainder of the crew would more often be found at the city's free improvised gigs (and I'm sure it's no coincidence that there was a heavy overlap with Eucalyptus, a band Newman has been playing with for the past year now). But improvisation is a technique, not a genre, so there no reason it can't be applied to a country shuffle instead of jazz-ish skronk.

[Kurt Newman will be bringing some sounds to Ayal Senior's monthly residency in the Southern Cross Lounge this Sunday (April 14th), and he will also be opening things up for Invocation's presentation of Appalachian folk songstress Sarah Louise at Array Space on Friday, May 24th.]