Rhiannon Giddens
Rhiannon Giddens, Amanda Palmer Cover Portishead’s ‘It’s A Fire’
At the start of lockdown in March, singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer was staying in New Zealand after the conclusion of her world tour. Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens, on the other hand, was locked down in Ireland after her own tour ended. The duo was craving collaboration, so Palmer hit up producer Jherek Bischof, who got together some string players in Los Angeles to assist. Together, the musicians just released a dreamy cover of Portishead’s 1994 track “It’s A Fire,” which Palmer had on repeat over in New Zealand during her stay. “There is something about this song that speaks to a deeper connection between things happening right now,” Palmer says of the Bandcamp track. “Black Lives Mattering, COVID, fear and trust are all colliding with one another…I wanted this cover vers...
Ben Harper and Rhiannon Giddens Team for Nick Drake Cover
As of this morning, blues stars Ben Harper and Rhiannon Giddens are officially collaborators. Harper and Giddens’ Tuesday release, a cover of Nick Drake’s 1974 “Black Eyed Dog,” sees Harper on lap steel and Giddens on banjo as they harmonize on the punchy American roots cut. Harper says he and his latest collaborator share many of the same influences, which is also quite evident in the soothing cover. “Rhiannon and I are both Black purveyors of American roots music, and while this is not an anomaly, it is an exception within a subculture,” Harper said in a statement. “We have unquestionably tapped into the same creative well of influence, carrying on the tradition through our own individual instincts and perspectives.” While the pair knew of each other before recording the track, Gidd...
