{"title":"Free Dirt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFree Dirt is a Grammy-nominated independent record label founded by John Smith and Erica J. Haskell in 2006. Over the years, Free Dirt has released music from talented artists such as *Pokey LaFarge*, *Anna \u0026amp; Elizabeth*, *Hackensaw Boys*, *Julian Lage \u0026amp; Chris Eldridge* (Grammy-nominated), *Cahalen Morrison*, *Dori Freeman*, *JP Harris*, and *The Two Man Gentlemen Band*. In addition to their impressive roster, Free Dirt collaborates with PM Press to co-release spoken word and folk music, featuring lectures by Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, as well as music from Chumbawamba, Leon Rosselson, Robb Johnson, and more. Furthermore, Free Dirt serves as a distributor for several other roots labels including Jalopy (Brooklyn), Big Muddy (St. Louis), Hi-Style (Nashville), and Mashed Potato (New Orleans).\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"cadence","title":"Cadence","description":"\u003cp\u003eOceans flow through the center of Cinder Well's music and \u003ci\u003eCadence\u003c\/i\u003e, the new album from Amelia Baker's experimental folk project, drifts between two far-flung seas: the hazy California coast where she grew up, and the wind-torn swells of Western Ireland that she's come to love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten soon after the release of 2020's acclaimed 'No Summer', Baker returned to her hometown in central California to record at Harlan Steinberger's nearby Hen House Studios in Venice Beach. Inspired by this new setting, Baker expanded Cinder Well's sound to include percussion, provided by her old friend Phillip Rogers (Haley Heynderickx), as well as trance electric guitar and expansive string parts courtesy of Cormac MacDiarmada (Lankum). The doom folk and traditional Irish influences of 'No Summer' are still present but often give way to a more optimistic and relaxed atmosphere that nods to LA's mythical Laurel Canyon years. Across nine epic tracks, Baker treads a sonic and lyrical path between the two coastal towns she calls home, her transcendental voice given new wings by the record's sweeping arrangements. \"Overgrown\" is the first major key Cinder Well song in nearly a decade while the uneasy and pulsating title track is a love letter to the self for our darkest days. Fittingly, Baker opens \u003ci\u003eCadence\u003c\/i\u003e with a song about selkies - seals that turn human on land. 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Featuring English folk luminaries such as Martin Carthy and Billy Bragg, this collection proves that Rosselson, now well into his 80s, has created an oeuvre comparable to other social critics such as Phil Ochs. He started performing in the early days of the folk revival as a member of the Galliards with whom he made many radio and TV broadcasts. His early songs were topical-satirical, but eventually absorbed many different influences from around the world. He has recorded many albums and published two songbooks. His song \"The World Turned Upside Down\" was taken into the pop charts by Billy Bragg and covered by artists including Dick Gaughan and Chumbawamba. Rosselson has also published seventeen children's books, the first of which, 'Rosa's Singing Grandfather', was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 1991. 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Conceived by \u003cstrong\u003eGRAMMY-winning producer Ian Brennan\u003c\/strong\u003e (Tinariwen, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Zomba Prison Project) and his wife, Italian Rwandan filmmaker and photographer \u003cstrong\u003eMarilena Umuhoza Delli\u003c\/strong\u003e, the project features musical accompaniment from the local community as well as ambient recordings from the factories that surround and pollute the community.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMeant as an impressionistic document rather than a definitive historical narrative, all recordings were captured on-site as live, first takes. The outdoor nature of the recordings graphically renders the encroaching and ominous industrial sounds and foregrounds the environmental racism that has plagued the community. Years before, in rural northern Ghana, Brennan had been struck by a hand painted \"Alabama Barbershop\" sign. 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After falling for the rich ballads and tunes of the Ozarks, where he now lives, he began examining the full spectrum of American musical history. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis insatiable stylistic diversity is obvious on \u003ci\u003ePeculiar, Missouri \u003c\/i\u003ewhich was produced by Grammy-winning engineer and Cajun musician Joel Savoy in rural Louisiana.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe songs range from sardonic honky-tonk barnburners like \"Vanlife\" to the heartbreaking queer waltz \"Life on the Fence.\" The album also imbues class consciousness in songs like \"Este Mundo,\" a cowboy border ballad about water rights, and the title track's existential talkin' blues about a surreal panic attack in Walmart's aisle five. Though Carlisle's poetic words evoke the mystical American storytelling of Whitman, Sandburg, and cummings, ultimately this is bonafide populist folk music. Carlisle recognizes that the only thing holding us back from greatness is each other. 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The sparse soundscapes and haunting stillness of her new album 'No Summer' are not meant to be paens to loneliness. Rather, Baker was inspired by the rich musical connectivity of the pub scene in Ireland, and her move from California to County Clare to study traditional music of the region. A member of anarchist folk project Blackbird Raum, Baker's time on the circuit with Irish trad-punk group Lankum eventually led her to a small settlement in County Clare, and to the rich dissonance of her music as Cinder Well, a dissonance caught between worlds and histories. Recorded by Nich Wilbur (Black Belt Eagle Scout, Angel Olsen), the original songs on 'No Summer' boldly rub shoulders with careful reworkings of traditional Appalachian sources. Baker's songs parse these transatlantic traditions, and throughout, her remarkable voice cuts to the bone like some ghostly ballad singer bound to sing these words from here to eternity. From the eerily prophetic title trackwhich presaged a season of cancelled shows to Our Ladys's imagined stories of spectral abandoned asylum residents, 'No Summer' is as haunting as it is connected, as dark as it is sacred, a kind of ritual healing thats existed through the ages.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Free Dirt","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50483027476811,"sku":"1097163","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50483026952523,"sku":"1097162","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4095430c-5666-4278-a039-ceb56a761486_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727560007"},{"product_id":"imaginary-people-2","title":"Imaginary People","description":"\u003cp\u003eA bittersweet nostalgia lies at the heart of 'Imaginary People', the new album from indie roots duo Viv \u0026amp; Riley. Over ten tracks, the pair applies an indie folk sheen to newly composed pop gems, a reworking of an ancient ballad, and even an original fiddle tune, deftly weaving together the old and new. In contrast to the sunny, lush production from Alex Bingham of Hiss Golden Messenger, the lyrics lean melancholic. \"Kygers Hill\" and \"Sauvie Island\" are both wistful odes to locales where these two young master musicians spent formative years developing a penchant for songwriting. \"Is It All Over'' lampoons the futility of the billionaire space race through a darkly comedic vision of a future music industry, while the title track expounds on the \"imaginary\" versions of our idealized selves. Viv \u0026amp; Riley fittingly end the album with a droning take on the traditional Ozark tale \"The Blackest Crow.\" Both musicians trace their original artistic inspiration to the deep roots music they learned in their youths on opposite sides of the country. The duo's continuing musical expansion is in part the fruition of their investment in the music scene of their new home of Durham, NC which is known for its cross-genre collaboration and creatively articulated roots music. However, the tracklist is still peppered with pedal steel and the rootsy fiddle and banjo trappings the pair employed to acclaim on their previous two releases. As much as 'Imaginary People' looks back to nostalgic yesteryears, it importantly marks the beginning of a new direction for these songwriting virtuosos.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Free Dirt","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50484316930379,"sku":"2029244","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50484316602699,"sku":"2029242","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_3b96af4b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727588057"},{"product_id":"vivian-leva-and-riley-calcagno","title":"Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno","description":"\u003cp\u003eVivian Leva and Riley Calcagno's self-titled record is old-soul roots music to its core. Though both just out of college, the duos musical talents extend far beyond their years. Produced by Cajun roots heavyweight Joel Savoy at his Grammy-winning studio, Vivian Leva \u0026amp; Riley Calcagno is not some soulless collection of songs imitating previous masters of American music. Rather, the pair has responded to one of the darkest eras in American history with an album of stunning breadth and originality. With mass protests and fires raging near their current home in the Pacific Northwest, and no prospect of touring anytime soon, its an aptly biting, bittersweet group of songs for an uncertain time. Yet, Leva and Calcagno balance this with a sense of optimisma notion that at our most vulnerable we might emerge better humans because of it all, perhaps beginning with our own intimate relationships. The eleven tracks elegantly reprise the deep threads of old-time and classic country present throughout Levas debut albumshe did grow up in rural Virginia, the daughter of celebrated old-time musicians, after all. However, the pair fluidly meld this traditional backbone with fresh iconic melodies, expanded production, and the tightly wound vocal harmonies of indie folk. Its an artistic statement made from this moment but built to last.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Free Dirt","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50526866637131,"sku":"1114727","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/e13c8ead-4fb1-44f9-bf9a-ea64a7446667_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1728049221"},{"product_id":"mighty-poplar","title":"Mighty Poplar","description":"\u003cp\u003eAcross 10 songs that include bluegrass and folk classics and deep cuts from the Carter Family to Leonard Cohen, the fivesome captures the fierce and playful energy of a late night jam between old friends. Regarded as some of the finest players of their generation, the playing is never showy and always in service of the song. Careful reworkings of Dylan's \"North Country Blues\" and Martha Scanlan's \"Up on the Divide\" sit comfortably next to a rip-roaring pass through the fiddle tune \"Grey Eagle.\" Mighty Poplar's members, known for pushing American acoustic music in progressive directions, wanted to return to their roots to make a bonafide bluegrass record to celebrate the music they hold so dear. Recorded with the band sitting knee-to-knee in a woodsy studio outside Nashville, the band eschewed the smooth production style of contemporary bluegrass in favor of the methods and spirit of their most cherished classic bluegrass recordings. As a whole, the songs are as immediate and emotionally impactful as the playing is tasteful.This is bluegrass music at its zenith: thoughtfully crafted by players with off-the-charts chemistry. OnMighty Poplar, they've captured lightning in a bottle.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Free Dirt","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50786830745931,"sku":"2014226","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50786831237451,"sku":"2014236","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_faecd2ad_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1731109312"},{"product_id":"anna-and-elizabeth-ry","title":"Anna and Elizabeth","description":"\u003cp\u003eAnna \u0026amp; Elizabeth honor Appalachian artistry and shed new light upon tradition. Elizabeth LaPrelle, an acclaimed ballad singer from Rural Retreat, VA, and Baltimore-based multi-instrumentalist Anna Roberts-Gevalt, have made their most compelling work to date in their new self-titled album on Free Dirt Records. A collection of 16 traditional songs thoughtfully gathered and interpreted, the album guides listeners through the duo's intense personal connection with each song, for an experience that is as warm and intimate as their one-of-a-kind live performances. Soaring through rousing old-time dance numbers, haunting Appalachian ballads and lilting lullabies, Anna \u0026amp; Elizabeth showcases the incredible vocal capabilities of both LaPrelle and Roberts-Gevalt, and shimmers with breathtaking moments of harmony, all laid atop masterfully executed instrumentals. A record equally as invigorating as it is contemplative, Anna \u0026amp; Elizabeth allows for the prolific talents of these two young women to shine brighter than ever before.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Free Dirt","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":53483417108811,"sku":"R8309-5684","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/0877746007217.jpg?v=1758908595"},{"product_id":"heirloom-ux","title":"Heirloom","description":"\u003cp\u003eNorth Carolina-bred, Nashville-based indie country artist Nathan Evans Fox writes songs that trace the fault lines between family, faith, labor, and inheritance, poignantly showcased on his forthcoming LP, Heirloom. Raised on four generations of family land at the end of a dead-end road in Glen Alpine, North Carolina, Fox grew up in a community shaped by mill closures, factory layoffs, and the slow erosion of working-class stability. His sound carries blue-collar critique and community-minded hope into places that might otherwise resist them. For him, country music is about owning your twang, working inside traditions, and making sure the hardest conversations happen in a language that feels familiar. Fox lovingly calls it \"comrade country.\" Sonically, Heirloom brims with Appalachian texture and spirit. Banjo threads throughout the record in inventive ways-bowed, muted, and treated percussively-used less as a symbol of tradition than as a storytelling device. Across his work, Fox is building something larger than a catalog of songs. He's creating space for listeners who don't want to choose between their cultural roots and their hopes for a more just world. His music invites people into hard conversations without losing playfulness or warmth: protest hymns that feel like porch songs, liberation theology wrapped in banjo strings, and country music that remembers where it came from while imagining where it could go.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Free Dirt","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":57222980305227,"sku":"R1477-7094","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":57222980337995,"sku":"R1477-6681","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/0877746012723.jpg?v=1778017003"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_e983c6e9_thumbnail_4096_42a89e39-8dee-4082-80c1-87fe14cdb911.jpg?v=1726242276","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/free-dirt.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}