For Night Beats’ Levitation Session, Danny Lee Blackwell and his band ventured out into the Mojave Desert (lucky souls!!) and recorded a discography spanning 13-track set on reel-to-reel tape, featuring many classic Night Beats tracks from all of their back catalogue! This is also the first opportunity for their listeners to hear some live jams off their latest album, Outlaw R&B!!!
The show features original Night Beats drummer James Traeger, The Black Angels’ Ramiro Verdooren on guitar, Chris Maciel on Bass, Mikey Whiteside on keys and as always, Danny Lee on lead guitar and vox…and the artwork is very cool too!!
Recording with all analog equipment in the blazing Mojave heat was a test of both the band and their vintage gear (they even had to put ice on their guitar pedals to keep them operational), but well worth the trouble because they emerged from the desert with a dusty, warm-hued rock n roll creation ready to share with the world. More than just a cool location, the desert provided Night Beats an opportunity to tap into something deeper in the Mojave – and this is what they had to say about the session! :
“For our Levitation Session we recorded on reel-to-reel 1/2 inch tape in the middle of the Mojave Desert in Antelope Valley. Due to my natural tendencies to explore the layers of my ancestry and being forever inspired by the beautiful sounds coming out of the Saharan desert, I wanted to challenge myself to produce a recording that doesn’t filter but fully embraces a similar environment. A search for symbiosis between the music and the ground it’s made on. Thanks to a place I love and respect, a welcomed challenge, and some of my closest friends, what you are hearing is Night Beats in one of its truest and rarest forms. Thank you for listening and thank you to those who lived on and cherished this land before us”
Levitation Sessions boasts 13 tracks, showcasing the old and the new in what evolved into a spiritual exploration of mind, body and sound! Ticket is one of their latest offerings, featuring on this years Outlaw R&B LP, but is the first from this session available to sample!
Check it out above, watch a live clip below and pre-order yourself a copy of the album from here.!!
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