American Epic sessions
Posted by: Ebor on 11 June 2017
This was shown two days ago on BBC Four (and I suspect it will have been shown elsewhere in the world recently too):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/e...-epic-4-the-sessions
Similar in feel to The 1930s Jazz Recording Project on Lake Records, this used a restored Western Electric recording system (microphones, valve amps and direct-to-disc cutter) to record rural American music of various kinds, exactly as was done in the 1920s. There's some great music and musicians to listen to - the interviews are good too - and a good few bits of vintage music tech porn to satisfy those of us who swing that way. I enjoyed the bit where the strap that held the descending 105-lb weight broke and had to be sewn back together before the recording could continue. Makes a change from ProTools crashing.
The soundtrack is available from the usual outlets under the title American Epic, though be careful because they seem to have released some original 1920s recordings with very similar front covers and titles. Try before you buy.
Mark