Listening Lyrics

"Americana" is alive and well thanks to Jason McNiff, who hails from the coast of Southern England. Jason also introduced us to Sarah Gillispie, and we ended the interview playing one of her songs.

British troubadour Jason McNiff has made five albums which people call folk, or Americana, or alt country. There is an Englishness in his guitar playing, however, and you might think of Bert Jansch or Wizz Jones meeting John Prine & Townes Van Zandt. “McNiff’s quiet, intimate, fragile-sounding vocals draw you into his world," wrote Time Out in London, "an almost timeless place through which he drifts, a romantic loner, a dreamer, at home with the blues.” He is often touted as one of the UK’s most overlooked musical treasures, as a songwriter and fingerpicker.

His album April Cruel (Fledg’ling) was nominated for best album in the alt country category at the Independent Music Awards in 2011. A double CD anthology, Rain Dries Your Eyes, was issued in 2017. A new record made during lockdown will be coming soon.

Jacob Swedlow is a talented and beautiful human being. In a far-ranging interview he shares with us his music, and how Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter storm affected him -- all of it influencing his own being and his creativity.

The best I can do is let Jacob talk a little about himself:

"My name is Jacob Swedlow, and I am a drummer, composer, vibraphonist, and teacher from Sacramento. After being exposed to Black American music at a young age, I have developed a deep passion for the history, culture, and innovation of the music, as well as the urge to play it! After my first few professional performances, I realized that this was the path for me.

Niall Woods (AKA Nylophone), who hails from Wicklow, Ireland, painstakingly tweaks his songs on a modest recording set-up at home before passing them on to a pro to have live drums mixed in and a few bells and whistles added. You can hear the influence of '60s artists such as The Beach Boys and Del Shannon in the neatly arranged bittersweet tunes that always clock in under 4 minutes, but more modern influences make the final result sound more akin to Ariel Pink. Nylophone's music typically features trickling guitar parts and layers of synth with catchy melancholic vocals on top. Bright melodies are contrasted with darker themes, or vice versa. Nylophone can also be found on Spotify and Facebook.

From Pieter: If you enjoyed this program, please hit the like button on the Listening Lyrics Facebook page. If you're interested in appearing on the show, hit me up at promotions@kdrt.org.

Preacher Cleveland, host of “Praise Time with Preacher” on KDRT, takes over the “Listening Lyrics” spot this Friday, June 19 at 4 PM with a special show to commemorate Juneteenth, celebrated each June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, the most remote of all slave states, where on that date in 1865, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.

Here in Davis, Juneteenth is typically celebrated at a huge community event sponsored by The Culture Co-op, the Yolo County Library and other community partners, but in the absence of large gatherings, Preacher is stepping up to offer this programming to the community.

The show will be a mix of history, touching on topics from the evolution of Juneteenth to the Tulsa Massacre, weaving in songs of protest and praise, and connecting it all to the current-day Black Lives Matter Movement.