Artist To Check Out: King Of Cats

Article by KevW

Max Levy's King Of Cats project began a few years ago but the most fascinating and expressive chapter is the recently released 'America' album. A collection of songs recorded on a journey across the US on Greyhound buses. On this trip Max worked with musicians he met on his travels, taping the results in a series of interesting locations on the small 4-track he took with him. These are essentially field recordings, done live, and thus capture a raw essence not dissimilar to those early, soulful tracks laid down by the original bluesmen. Each songs is named after the location of its inception and includes background sounds (check out the guy giving him a high-five on 'Recorded in Golden Gate park, San Francisco, at the end of a show').

The fact that these songs are so lo-fi and are often made with people he barely knows adds a stunning authenticity and power that studio trickery can't capture. Have a listen to the crude electric blues of 'Recorded at Maggie's house, San Francisco' or the ragged folk of 'Recorded next to the train tracks in Flagstaff, Arizona'. There aren't many people who could pull off such a project without it sounding like an unlistenable shambles, let alone cram some emotion and genuine passion into it. It's enough to make us want to buy the guy some more bus tickets and see what he can find next time.




King Of Cat's website

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