Last month, Each Note Secure announced a
collaboration between Sub Pop’s Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee.Â
Dear Companion, which was recorded in early 2009 and produced by fellow Kentuckian Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket, Monsters of Folk)
, comes out today on Sub Pop.
Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee are on tour now in support of
Dear Companion. Daniel Martin Moore was able to answer a few questions about the new album.
Each Note Secure: How did the two of you [Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee] meet?
Daniel Martin Moore: Ben and I met via myspace email, and then in person at CD Central, Lexington’s indie record store. I was playing an instore show, and he and his wife came out to say hello, and we had a good long talk about music and things that were on our mind, namely MTR [Mountaintop Removal] and its affect on our commonwealth.
ENS: How does the album address the issue of Mountaintop Removal coal mining?
DMM: MTR is something that is sort of lurking in the background of the whole album. A couple of the songs are about it specifically (like ‘Sweet Marie’ and ‘Flyrock Blues’), but there are also tunes that are about some broader issues, like Ben’s ‘Something, Somewhere, Sometime.’ It’s more about the decisions that have brought us to this point in history, to the point that we are destroying our heritage and poisoning ourselves just to be able to consume more and more.
ENS: A portion of the proceeds for Dear Companion will be given to Appalachian Voices. How did you get involved with this organization?
DMM: Appalachian Voices is the group that runs the site: www.ILoveMountains.org, which is probably the best place to learn about MTR and how we are all connected to it. They were the perfect choice because not only are they trying to raise awareness about and stop MTR, but they are also looking forward and realize that just stopping MTR isn’t enough. We need real, sustainable, responsible and respectful development that can support our communities in the long run. Appalachian Voices is working toward those goals, and right along side countless other community organizations, churches and civil groups throughout Appalachia. Ben and I admire that sense of community-minded purpose, so that’s ultimately why we chose App. Voices.
ENS: How does this collaboration compare musically to your solo work?
[Note: Ben Sollee stepped in to answer this question as well.]
DMM: I guess it’s pretty different from ‘Stray Age.’ There are a lot of textures and instruments that I hadn’t used on recordings up to this point. That was the beauty of it, though, that we all came together and made something none of us could’ve made on our own. I feel like it’s a melting pot in the same way that all Appalachian music is a melting pot, and that makes me proud, makes me feel like we did it right.
Ben Sollee: On Learning to Bend I often found myself reaching for other instrumentation like harp, strings, vibraphones, and such. Dear Companion was much more organic and immediate. Like Jim would say, “let’s see what happens” and we’d find ourselves in a circle or across the room…the most natural thing physically is most often the right thing musically.
ENS: How did you connect with Yim Yames to produce the record?
DMM: Ben and Jim had worked together before on a few recordings, so we reached out to him and he was wholeheartedly into the idea.
ENS: All three of you – Ben, Daniel and Jim – are from Kentucky. Did this influence the record in any way?
DMM: Definitely. It was our love of the music of our homeland and our concern for Kentucky and Appalachia that initially brought us all together. I don’t think this album would’ve happened if we hadn’t all been Kentucky boys.
Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee will be playing a free in-store performance at Shake It Records this Friday before their free show at Northside Tavern.
Dear Companion Tour featuring Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore
Friday, February 19
Shake It in-store performance @ 6pm
Northside Tavern free @ 10pm
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