{"title":"Magic Tuber Stringband","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"needlefall","title":"Needlefall","description":"\u003cp\u003eMuch like the North Carolina wilds it reflects, Needlefall waxes and wanes from mysterious and unsettling to ecstatic and awe-inspiring, capturing the sacred dimensions of the natural world. Magic Tuber Stringband draw on a host of fellow travelers to realize Needlefall’s intricate arrangements, exemplifying the diversity of contemporary folk movements, placing their work in the tradition of modern innovators like Moondog, Harry Partch, Pauline Oliveros, and labelmate Sally Anne Morgan. The vast forests and mountains that inspire the band as a metaphor for living music traditions – ever-changing and yet still standing, shaped over time by human hands while equally shaping the human experience. Magic Tuber Stringband, from North Carolina, are Courtney Werner and Evan Morgan, accompanied by their regular bassist Mike DeVito. Morgan is an organizer within the local music community, and Werner is a dedicated naturalist involved in local land stewardship. Needlefall answers the question “what does a modern string band sound like?” with powerful new arrangements of traditional songs and transcendent originals. The album is teeming with life, translating abundant ecosystems into arcing melodies and shimmering, mystic drones. The band explains: “If you spend enough time out in the woods you inevitably see or hear things that are hard to explain. I’ve been in caves where it’s total darkness and you’re enveloped by the disorienting sound of dripping water. The natural sights and sounds in these places are often repetitive, percussive, expressive, sometimes unsettling - the way that water carves patterns into rock or tree trunks appear in endless rows.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Thrill Jockey","offers":[{"title":"Purple LP","offer_id":50391056974155,"sku":"2174761","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50391056417099,"sku":"2174760","price":35.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50391055073611,"sku":"2174759","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/ae129a12-9490-166a-85c9-b864b5ac48f0_ab70a0a7_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726396901"},{"product_id":"heavy-water","title":"Heavy Water","description":"\u003cp\u003eMagic Tuber Stringband act in communion with the natural world around them. Highly skilled players and writers, the trio are leaders within the burgeoning avant-folk world. Growing up in Appalachia studying the folk traditions of the region in tandem scientific and observational work in nature, their music appears to weave in and out of the fabric of the landscape. The ensemble continues to stretch the parameters of acoustic instrumental expression with masterful flourishes of dense, textural arrangements, subtle minimalist gestures and deft improvisation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHeavy Water\u003c\/em\u003e addresses the impact of nuclear production on the environment and the communities within, a musical evocation of destruction and resilience, an embrace of dissonance and tension within moments of transcendence.  \u003cem\u003eHeavy Water\u003c\/em\u003e is more than a collection of songs. It is a work whose compositions are entirely modern. Played on traditionally folk acoustic instruments, it defies expectations and emotionally addresses the pain of lives human, flora or fauna irrevocably changed by dominant forces and defiantly persevering.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Thrill Jockey","offers":[{"title":"LP - Opaque Turquoise","offer_id":56615728546123,"sku":"R5974-7971","price":36.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":56615728578891,"sku":"R5974-2049","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":56615728611659,"sku":"R5974-9871","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/unnamed-2026-02-24T112747.148.jpg?v=1771932475"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/magic-tuber-stringband.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}