![]() I remember writing a lot of songs then and six months later thinking, uhh, that’s the worst song ever. It’s hard to go back into that head space. I don’t know what I was thinking, but it made sense. I chose philosophy because I liked it and I knew I’d end up doing music somehow and I didn’t want to do it right away. I would have rather gone to McGill University but they said it would be $1,000, (laughs) like nothing (laughs), but I was like “Fuck you McGill! You don’t want me bad enough to pay for all of it!” (laughs) It turns out that I should have gone to McGill (laughs) because I moved to Montreal eventually and that’s where all the musicians I fell in love with are. I was studying philosophy in Ottawa because they said it would be free if I went there. What were you doing right before you committed to pursuing a career in music above most other things? Leif Vollebekk: That’s probably right (laughs). Lauren Jahoda: You released your first album, Inland, four years ago, right? “F… yeah! This is Leif Vollbekk’s interview!” Leif and I discussed a variety of things including his degree in philosophy, Newport Folk Festival, the Montreal music scene, his collection of musical instruments, how to cook, and… a stolen journal. It was the day after Lief had just heard the news, that he (as well as Nathaniel Rateliff), will be touring with Gregory Alan Isakov, come January 2015. As we talked, one of the Barr Brothers was showering in the next room. Leif Vollebekk and I met in New York on Friday afternoon, just prior to his opening performance for The Barr Brothers show at The Bowery Ballroom. Posted on NovemUpdated on NovemLeif Vollebekk at Newport Folk Festival 2014, PC: Feathertree Photography Album Description“F’ Yeah!”: This is Leif Vollebekk’s Interview ![]() See More Your browser does not support the audio element. But hey, nobody knows what Bob Dylan is talking about on some of his best songs, either. Lyrically, Rateliff seems to be coming from an intensely personal place, to the degree that it's often difficult to determine the specifics of the scenarios presented in his songs, but when he throws some hard images into the mix - which happens with some regularity throughout the album - the listener is given something winningly idiosyncratic to latch onto and ponder, even if it doesn't quite make the emotional intent clearer. A couple of tracks - "Whimper and Wail" and "A Lamb on the Stone" - feature a full rhythm section and pick up the tempo a bit, but for the most part, this an album of ballads in the grand troubadour tradition. Most of the cuts on In Memory of Loss contain little more than acoustic guitar, bass, and piano backing Rateliff's voice, which comes off as a cross between M Ward and the late Vic Chesnutt in both physical and emotional tone. Instead, he gives Rateliff plenty of room to do his thing, keeping the tracks agreeably spare and letting the songs themselves remain front and center. Producer Brian Deck, who has worked with the likes of Iron and Wine and Modest Mouse, is at the helm here, but he doesn't weigh the album down with a lot of excess arrangements. ![]() Nevertheless, Rateliff's Rounder debut marks the first time he has recorded strictly under his own name. He started out as part of a band called Born in the Flood before cutting Desire and Dissolving Men, an album of homemade recordings, under the name the Wheel on Denver-based micro-indie Public Service Records. Singer/songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff, who hails from a tiny town in Missouri, makes his official solo debut with In Memory of Loss. Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs. ![]()
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