姓名： TheDeSotoCaucus 英文名：- 性别：男 国籍：- 出生地：- 语言：- 生日：- 星座：- 身高：- 体重：-
The DeSoto Caucus grew out of Howe Gelb's Giant Sand, became a hands-on study of traditional and comtemporary American music, and has turned into a fully fledged vehicle for intriguing sounds and great songcraft.
"Last time I saw these guys was on a sweaty night in Hamburg in 2012, when my friend Howe Gelb was in town with his extended band Giant Giant Sand. One Giant less and you have Giant Sand. For the past ten years this band has consisted of the legendary main man Mr. Gelb plus four guys from Aarhus, Denmark: Anders Pedersen, Peter Dombernowsky, Nikolaj Heyman and Thøger T. Lund. They are a kind of second-sighted gentlemen you hardly find nowadays. Friendly, open, distinguished in a humble way, and always with an adventurous sparkle in the corner of their eyes. Tramps in suits, if you like. Hobos with homes. They won't throw TVs out of hotel windows, they never curse or yell, but if you pull a cigarette they would pass you a light, and cover the flame with their hand, asking you how things are going before you can even say thank you, sir. In 2006, they formed their own band, The Desoto Caucus, but I didn't know. They never told me. Not because they didn't want me to know. These guys just don't push. They slip. Elegantly. Like this: After a cheerful goodbye, after the band took off and left for the next stop of the tour that summer night in Hamburg, I stumbled home, blissful and bedazzled. The next morning I found a burned CD that somebody must have slipped into the pocket of my jacket. It was 'Offramp Rodeo', the then not yet released second album of their now infamous band. Without any expectations I gave it a try and was immediately hooked. Vast open sounds, elegant grooves, a voice in a dark-blue timbre telling mysterious stories about losing and finding things, the guitars breathing, more rolling then rocking, like a tender thunder. And while listening to these songs, my nervousness suspended into a kind of sweet contemplation as the light outside changed into a pastel glow you might find on the coast of California, or in the north of Denmark. For it really is the same kind of light, go see for yourself! Anyway, I couldn't stop listening. For months. And I wasn't surprised when I discovered who had made this music. I played it to friends and the reactions were always the same: Silence, soft smiles, then the question: Who is this? Can I have it? Please! I don't know how they do it. How they create this kind of atmosphere. It's music you could easily walk by, due to its inconspicuousness. It feels so natural, so in-tune and conscious, never showing off or trying to sell something, never trying at all. It's just there, it feels right, and we all know that this is the greatest craft: To create art that is so elemental, that you can't imagine a world without it. The trick is to start breathing. If you take your time and go with the flow, you will sink into it. You will find the levels and layers, the words between the lines, the subsonic sounds and branched connections – and you will get addicted in the most positive way. If you need labels to not get lost, you could call this music Americana, but since this has such a dated ring to it, you better change the sticker to Be-Here-Now or Contemporary something, or .... ah, forget it. Let it happen. Enjoy. And don't miss the light."
After ten years of exploring the American musical heritage playing with Howe Gelb, the DeSoto Caucus released their second album based on the experiences and discoveries on international label, Glitterhouse Records, in the spring of 2013. “Offramp Rodeo” is a collection of roadsongs, scruples, and tall tales. Now their third, selfentitled album is set for release April 8th, and a further development of the songwriting, soundscapes and stories is to be expected.
Having shared their time between Denmark and Arizona, when not being on the road across Europe and North America, the band began doing their own songs when touring as part of Giant Sand came to a temporary halt, as main man Howe Gelb took a year and a half off to do a record, and subsequently toured, with a Canadian gospel group. The impressions from the dusty trail of Sand was transformed by the native Danes into a slightly melancholic singer-songwriter based indierock that has become increasingly original with its brilliant and sometimes downright complex grooves, cool guitarwork, and a timeless vintage soundscape inhabited by organs, maracas and vibraphones. Add to that two handfuls of apt lyrics, haunting voices and great dynamics, and you get the picture.
"Offramp Rodeo" was very very well received, with Uncut Magazine calling it "a slow-burning stunner rammed with songs of hauting melancholy" and Americana Magazine predicting that: "big things will surely come for the DeSoto Caucus."
The DeSoto Caucus is:
Anders Pedersen singing & playing
Peter Dombernowsky drumming, shaking, snapping & clapping
Nikolaj Heyman singing, playing guitars and bass, keyboards and some
Thøger T. Lund singing, playing upright bass, clarinet & piano
Henrik Poulsen, playing bass
All living in the Aarhus, Denmark, Thøger, Peter and Anders among a bunch of other local players, were invited to take part in the recording of Howe Gelb's solo record The Listener. When the album was released in the spring of 2003, the three of them along with danish folk-pop star Marie Frank went on the European tour to support the album. As more shows kept following, Gelb at some point decided this would be the new Giant Sand since the previous incarnation consisting of Gelb, John Convertino and Joey Burns had fazed out due to the success and incresingly busy schedule of Burns/Convertino sideproject Calexico.
And so it went the Sand way, more touring and recording followed, but when Gelb did a highly acclaimed gospel-album in 2006 and took the recording band of Canadians on tour, the Danes had time off and used it to record, both songs Anders had written during the time on the road, and jams that would eventually turn into songs. Some of these Gelb would later make up vocals for, as he would also dub guitar and piano on a couple of other songs. Finishing recordings in Tucson, Arizona (hometurf of Giant Sand and also Lund’s new nesting ground) The DeSoto Caucus invited Vicky Brown and Jimmie Carr to add to the project. Back in Denmark final contributions by Palle Hjorth, Henrik Silver, Nikolaj Heyman and Marie Frank completed the album which was released in 2008 and entitled “EliteContinentalCustomClub”.
"I thought of it as a fishing trip", Anders later said. "We had no idea what we were after or how to go about it really....kinda missing Howe in the mix, but still had to do something with our time and the songs that started piling up". Being out of his comfort zone, AP rose to the occasion. Sang, got Thøger to sing as well (Peter refused) and the result was immediately exciting.
With double lead vocals in octaves and responsive, playful musicianship to drive the songs forward, a unique sound appeared. Thus The DeSoto Caucus had found its voice. Over the following years the trio, turning into a quartet after Nikolaj Heyman joined Giant Sand, would open for themselves (as Giant Sand).
Soon after the release of ECCC, the band was asked by Jens Folmer Jepsen, head of the Aarhus Festival to invite international artists & friends to come to town and do a series of shows that became known as The Medium Rare Sessions. Starting in 2007, the Sessions have featured the Caucus, often extenting to a seven piece, with Jakob Buchanan on fluegelhorn, Palle Hjorth on assorted all sorts keyboards, and Howe Gelb acting as pianoplayer and mc. Guests have been Kurt Wagner, Peter Sommer, Marie Frank, Isobel Campbell, Nive Nielsen, Sarah Blasko, Josh Rouse, Maria Timm, CV Jørgensen, Scout Niblett, John Doe, Agnes Obel, Mark Lanegan, Charlie Sexton, Jason Lytle, M. Ward, Emiliana Torrini, and Brian Lopez.
Giant Sand is currently touring the recent Giant Giant Sand record "Tucson" and the DeSoto Caucus has spend most off hours finishing a new batch of recorded material. New flavors are being added to the mix and before you know they're in your hometown playing their hearts out. Stay tuned!
