The collaboration between renowned drummer Jim White and acclaimed guitarist Marisa Anderson is a natural union of two of the most intuitive players and listeners working in music. Jim White is known for his groundbreaking trio, Dirty Three, as well as duo, Xylouris White. His list of collaborations is vast and include artists such as Nick Cave, Bill Callahan, Cat Power, Marnie Stern and Warren Ellis. Jim just released his debut solo album, All Hits: Memories. Marisa Anderson, known primarily for her solo work, in demand collaborator who has worked with Tashi Dorji, Sharon Van Etten, Yasmine Williams and Michael Hurley. She has released records with William Tyler and Tara Jane O’neal. White and Anderson are each highly sought after collaborators in no small part because of their mastery, versatility and highly expressive playing. Their sophomore album, Swallowtail, fnds the duo completely attuned to each other, fuidly moving as wind and water. They avoid preconceived movements, instead focusing on their musical conversation. As Anderson puts it: “The ideas aren’t the music, they are the pathway into the musical possibilities.” Their skillful interplay creates an effervescence throughout the album. The ebb and fow to the duo’s motions bring a sense of serenity and ease to spontaneous transitions, each swell and retraction sounding as free as it does inevitable. White and Anderson’s preternatural alchemy as a duo allows each feeting gesture to feel featherlight and stirring while maintaining an inquisitive spirit. Their music is an enchanting and illuminating.
Swallowtail was recorded in the Australian coastal town of Point Lonsdale, Victoria with engineer Nick Huggins (Resting Bell Studio). “It was a big change of vibe and scenery,” says Anderson, “to be out of the city and on the coast with no distraction and to be working with an engineer (and avid surfer) who is attuned to the cycles of tides and sunrises and sunsets and ocean rhythms. I think all of that got into the music as we were making it.” The coastal cadence is evident in Swallowtail’s more gradual temporal shifts. The album evokes both the natural setting of its recording and the natural expanses around home. Reminiscent of the grace of its namesake’s movement through the garden’s fora, Swallowtail is a beautiful listen whose depth unfolds with the dance of this astute and untethered duo, guiding us nimbly through nature’s vistas and our dreams.
White and Anderson also appear together on Mayday by Myriam Gendron