Browse by Artist: A HAWK AND A HACKSAW

Artist:	A HAWK AND A HACKSAW
Title:	A Hawk and a Hacksaw
Label:	LEAF (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	BAY 035CD

"A Hawk And A Hacksaw was conceived and performed by genre-defying one-man orchestra Jeremy Barnes of Bablicon and Neutral Milk Hotel. The album features intricate piano-based compositions layered with accordion, percussion, horns, bells, a chicken, geese, gongs, cats, a duck, spoons, and pieces of tin. It was recorded over the course of 15 months in the Loire Valley (Saumur, France) with a variety of guest performers. Recalling Kurt Weill's orchestrations, Carl Stalling's visionary cartoon soundtracks and Tom Waits' more whimsical works, Barnes creates a playfully gothic atmosphere with his multi-layered, frantic compositions. Mixing field recordings with accordion, piano and bursts of drunken choruses, he generates a singular and unnerving orchestral whole. A song's direction can hinge on a dog's bark or a phone ringing, while cacophony and sweet, hymn-like harmonies cohabit in entertainingly unexpected passages. Influenced by everything from Eastern European folk music to Pierre Schaeffer to Spike Jones & His City Slickers, there's a healthy disregard for boundaries at play. A Hawk And A Hacksaw is a soundtrack for PT Barnum deceits and backwoods carnivals, top hats and curly moustaches, but maybe gone a little more screwy. What's more, everything is live-to-tape."

Artist:	A HAWK AND A HACKSAW
Title:	A Hawk and a Hacksaw and The Hun Hangár Ensemble
Label:	LEAF (UK)
Format:	CD/DVD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	DOCK 047CD

"A real treat for the burgeoning ranks of A Hawk And A Hacksaw fans, this strictly limited EP includes the first fruits of the duo's blossoming relationship with a group of extraordinarily talented Hungarian folk musicians, who have come together under the name The Hun Hangár Ensemble to tour Europe with A Hawk And A Hacksaw this summer. Consisting of eight newly-recorded songs, both original and traditional, the EP serves as an introduction for both the listener and the artists themselves as they get to know each other, providing a platform from which music and ideas can evolve. In addition to the CD, a 20-minute bonus DVD (An Introduction To A Hawk And A Hacksaw) documents the last two years of almost continuous touring by the original duo of Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost, with behind-the-scenes insight into their travels across Europe, as well as some great live footage captured in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Anyone not yet au fait with the group's blistering but delightfully intimate live performances would do well to sample some of the fun. There are only 4,000 individually numbered copies of this release available worldwide, in special gatefold card packaging." The DVD is NTSC format, region free.

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