Today carnaval (or 'vastelaovend') started here in Limburg in the south of the Netherlands. This morning the trains to Venlo where filled with dressed up people who all went to the 'Boetegewoëne Boètezitting'. Thousands of carnavalgoers have kicked off the three crazy days which will follow. Not me. I don't celebrate carnaval (anymore) and maybe that has something to do with the fact that I hate carnaval music. That's not the music I want to hear at a party. I'd rather listen to the music I wrote about last week, or the music of Reed KD.
Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, label owner Reed KD is from Santa Cruz, California and makes indie-pop-folk-bluegrass music. The twelve songs of his debut album "The Ashes Bloom" were recorded during the year 2006 in several living rooms and bedrooms. Reed KD sings and plays various instruments like guitar, slide-guitar, mandoline, harmonica, accordion and the Rhodes piano. He probably wants to be his own boss because he even releases his CD on his own label Dirty Laundry Records. But he doesn't perform all by himself, he formed the band The Armchair Aviators which consists of Slade, John, Joaquine and Lauren.
The music of Reed KD and the Armchair Aviators sounds a bit like Elliott Smith and Paul Simon, on a few tracks like "This Coastal Town" even like Simon & Garfunkel. Nice tunes with beautiful harmonies.
>mp3: Empty Bottles
>mp3: Even If I