Joe George is premiering his new album titled ‘Folk Cinema’ releasing tomorrow. The initial feeling I got while listening to ‘Folk Cinema’ for the first time was how steeped Joe must be in music history, composition, and his own soul. This is an artist who ‘gets it’. What works musically and how to set poetry to a beautiful and original score. That is the heart of what makes music endearing to people and gives the fans the feeling of being friends as well. Each song has a place and, in this order, serves a purpose.
Overall, ‘Folk Cinema’ is an atmospheric blend of variations of folk with hints of Americana and original songwriting that highlights Joe’s musicianship and vocal style. Joe is a musician that really knows how to explore the space, and when to highlight that space, setting the appropriate mood for what each song is about and what it stands for.
While you may find a favorite track here and there on ‘Folk Cinema’, what we can all agree on is, collectively, this is a complete journey. One of many more to come. One that started with ‘Beautiful Dreams’ and sill continue for many years to come. Much as future classics do.
About ‘Folk Cinema’
‘Folk Cinema’ is a place where songs, stories, sounds, come together, rooted in folk, and expressed through a new lens, re-focused through a new projector, combining modernity and nostalgia. sound and light come together to arrange the images of characters trying to understand themselves, failing at doing so, but embracing the mystery, the unknown, which ultimately, maybe, is what makes life grand ~ discovering new questions, better questions, more fruitful ideas to meditate upon while patching up the broken pieces with gold. these characters find themselves in simple places, a stone’s throw away from the people they care about the most. they discover that these resonant sentiments string through the hearts of their friends, their families. these experiences are whipped up in a gentle serving which could be described as “lullabies for adults” or a “a ballet of good dreams.”
The sounds of ‘Folk Cinema’ are acquainted and curious — as in, if we read about them, they are acquainted, and if we hear them, they are curious. felted pianos, muted guitars, kalimbas, mallets, and fainting tape. a voice that sings, speaks, and breathes. variations of themes weave and loop. texture becomes the ground from which the harmony grows. there are trumpets, there are bellows, there are autoharps, alpine dulcimers, and kotos. but more importantly, these are the sounds that have come together for this moment in time, to serve the story of ‘Folk Cinema’.
Foreword by Yusef Noir.
About Joe George
Joe George is a songwriter, Emmy® nominated film composer, and video host of music YouTube channel, Reverb.
After supporting his debut record, ‘Beautiful Dreams’, in the U.S, Europe, and Japan just before the pandemic, Joe began conceptualizing ‘Folk Cinema’ — a collection of songs rooted in folk, re-focused through a new lens, combining modernity and nostalgia.
Joe George’s songs encompass a range of colors, from folk and Americana, to cinematic and spacious. His tasteful use of string quartet on recordings adds a breath and emotion to his music. On ‘Folk Cinema’ – muted trumpet sections play a defining role in the story of the record.
Joe’s film compositions earned him an Emmy nomination for his work on the humanitarian-based documentary series, Seeing Brave. Joe composed the music for The Pedal Movie, an acclaimed feature-length documentary, which went to #1 on iTunes.
Joe’s work with Reverb has been featured in The New York Times, Consequence of Sound, Guitar Player Magazine, and People Magazine. And a number of the videos he has hosted/performed in have gone viral, earning him global notoriety amongst music and gear lovers.
Featured image by Cory Dewald.
LINKS:
https://linktr.ee/Joegeorge
https://www.facebook.com/joegeorgemusic/
https://www.instagram.com/joegeorgemusic/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPF-X44IqLyombiylKyC-8A
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0BGqOkJgwHAl29AtANAFL2
