Auerbach produced EARLY JAMES album ‘Medium Raw’ out now via ‘Easy Eye Sound’

OUT now via Easy Eye Sound, the new album ‘Medium Raw’ from Alabama folk, blues, rusty, crooner-esque musician EARLY JAMES, produced by Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys).

‘Medium Raw’ more than lives up to its name with a collection of sincere, intimate rockers presented in an earthy, lived-in, real-world ambiance, and after recording his first two albums at Easy Eye Sound Studios, Auerbach believed Medium Raw needed to come together in a fresh setting.

“I wanted to try to find that power of when I first saw him, when it was just him and his guitar,” he said, “and after working with him a couple of times in the studio, I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to do it in the same kind of way. The comforts and luxuries of the studio, where you’re able to hear everything and make adjustments and changes, wasn’t right for this project.

“Some of my favorite albums are those Arhoolie records produced by Chris Strachwitz that were recorded in houses, by Fred McDowell, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and I felt like we might get better results if we did it in a house.”

And in the official video for ‘Medium Raw’ standout track ‘Tinfoil Hat,’fans get a look inside the recording sessions, with James, Auerbach, bassist Adrian Marmolejo, drummer Jeffrey Clemens and percussionist Sam Bacco seen recording around the house – an old Nashville property owned by photographer and artist, Buddy Jackson – surrounded by peeling wallpaper, aging furniture, various bric-a-brac, and an old painting of Harry Dean Stanton.

Beyond seven Early James originals – six previously unrecorded numbers and fan favourite ‘Dig To China,’ – the new album includes songs co-written with Auerbach and Nashville songwriter Pat McLaughlin (‘I Got This Problem’), Sheryl Crow’s frequent collaborator Jeff Trott (‘Nothing Surprises Me Anymore’), roots singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim (‘Go Down Swinging’), Irish songwriter Mick Flannery (‘Upside Down Umbrella’), and James’ former Birmingham roommate Ryan Sobb, (‘Unspeakable Thing’).

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(Main photo (c) Jim Herrington)

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