Oldham warmed to challenges in Iceland
By Chris Nixon
For The San Diego Union-Tribune
October 19, 2006
Frigid temperatures and long, dark nights dominate Iceland's winter months. With just four hours of daylight during the holidays, cabin fever and bleak thoughts battle with hope and happiness in the human mind during the long, dark chill.
Wrapped in the warmth of Valgier Sigurdsson's Reykjavik studio Greenhouse, Will Oldham recorded “The Letting Go” filled with his trademark contemplative, quiet music. Under the moniker Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Oldham used Iceland's wintry scenery to help focus the sessions for his fifth solo studio album.
“I think the strengths of recording in Iceland at that time of year had to do with the severity of the landscape, the cold and the darkness that we would be surrounded by and even the strange proportion of foreign to familiar being there, as well,” said Oldham from his home in Louisville, Ky.
“We tried to utilize those things,” he continued. “We would be forced to look at each other and listen to each other and focus on each other and focus on the songs and focus on the task at hand. And then when we did look out, have what we looked at to be full of sense of wonder and awesome novelty, as well.”
Oldham's songs embody the wave of singer-songwriters revitalizing folk and acoustic Americana music in the past decade: great lyrics matched with a willingness to take folk beyond just the formula of three chords and a catchy chorus.
“The Letting Go” finds Oldham teaming with Faun Fables vocalist Dawn McCarthy, who provides haunting harmonies on the record's 13 tracks. Sigurdsson adds beautiful, strong arrangements and just a touch of electric elements to offset all of the acoustic imagery. But McCarthy leaves the strongest impression on “The Letting Go.”
“Of all the great singers in independent music and punk rock over the last 30 years, there aren't a lot of people that focus on their voice,” Oldham said, explaining McCarthy's skills and her influence on the album. “Dawn always has been and will always be curious about how the voice works on a musical and mystical and religious and rhythmic and harmonic level.”
Oldham's been a professional musician for 15 years, and his songwriting is starting to reach larger audiences as he continues down his artistic path. In 2000, Johnny Cash gave his stamp of approval, recording the Oldham song “I See a Darkness” on his “American III: Solitary Man” album. For the 35-year-old Oldham, his progression as a songwriter and singer has always been a matter of doing the best with what you've got.
“I think in both spheres – singing and songwriting – there has been some progress,” said Oldham, who will perform Monday at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. “With both, there's always been an attempt to work within the limit of the ability at hand. And then the ability evolves. So there's a different utilization of skills now. It's OK to work on a different batch of songs that have different strength to them.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
