Pokey LaFarge

Pokey LaFarge – Manic Revelations (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 35:52 minutes | 730 MB | Genre: Americana
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © New Rounder

Pokey LaFarge’s anticipated album Manic Revelations was recorded in his hometown of St. Louis and co-produced with his band the Southside Collective and Tony Hoffer. The album’s lead track, the ripped-from-the-headlines Riot In The Streets, deals with the subject of racial tension and police violence in St. Louis.

“It is a tough thing to write about, but as a citizen of St. Louis and as an artist, I had to say something. Hopefully this song does more good than bad and, ultimately, gets the dialogue started. Although it’s also important to not forget the peaceful protests and those that spread the message of love in the pursuit of justice and equality, this particular song is about people being marginalized and brought to the brink. It was only a matter of time before they fight back. I hope you feel that tension in the song, even from the first bass click.”
– Pokey LaFarge
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Pokey LaFarge – Rock Bottom Rhapsody (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 37:13 minutes | 466 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © New West Records

‘The man singing these songs isn’t exactly the same man who wrote them,’ says Pokey LaFarge of Rock Bottom Rhapsody, his eighth and latest studio release. ‘This album is about the story of who I used to be.’ In early 2018, LaFarge ‘ searching for the sort of artistic freedom and inspiration he wasn’t finding in the Midwest ‘ relocated from his longtime home base of St. Louis, Missouri, to Los Angeles, California. New songs came quickly to LaFarge in his new environment, but new temptations soon found him, as well. Though he declines to get into specifics, LaFarge admits that he experienced a significant ‘fall from grace’ during the last months of 2018. ‘Things sort of started to unravel in my mind,’ Shortly before the recording of Rock Bottom Rhapsody began, LaFarge experienced a spiritual awakening ‘ and the faith he re-embraced in his hour of darkness helped to buoy him through the making of the album. Though he was struggling for spiritual equilibrium at the time, LaFarge at least had some rock-solid musical support to lean on. Recorded primarily at Reliable Recorders on Chicago’s Northwest side, Rock Bottom Rhapsody was produced by LaFarge’s friend and collaborator Chris Seefried (who also co-wrote several of the album’s tracks), and features the considerable talents of guitarist Joel Paterson, keyboardist Scott Ligon, upright/electric bassist Jimmy Sutton, and drummer Alex Hall. Musically, LaFarge continues to mix and match a wide variety of styles and traditions, while never losing track of his own vision This record is kind of like Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan hanging out with chanson singers and French jazz bands in like the forties, but I was never trying to make it sound like a particular person. Despite the trying period that preceded its recording, Rock Bottom Rhapsody is ultimately far more uplifting and life-affirming than its title would suggest. ‘That desperation, that struggle,’ LaFarge ponders, ‘Did it add something to the record? It certainly did. I mean, I don’t know if it made it better; it just is what it is. It’s not up to me to decide if people are going to feel that’
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Pokey LaFarge – Something In the Water (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 40:44 minutes | 432 MB | Genre: Country, Americana, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Universal Music

Pokey LaFarge makes original Midwestern music. With one foot deep in the heart of the American musical tradition and the other firmly planted in the present, he continually challenges the notion that tradition-bearers fail to push musical boundaries. An eclectic writer and performer, he incorporates elements of early jazz, ragtime, country blues, Western swing, and beyond, transcending the confines of genre to present a sound very much his own. Something in the Water follows on the heels of his last album, released on Jack White’s Third Man Records, but comes with an evolution in sound. Treated with a heavier dose of catchy rhythms and traditional drum kit percussion throughout, the 12 tracks on Something in the Water see LaFarge’s sound imbued with new life. Produced by kindred spirit Jimmy Sutton, Something in Water showcases Pokey LaFarge’s peerless gifts as a songwriter, performer, and entertainer, and further solidifies his place at the forefront of American music.
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Pokey LaFarge – In The Blossom of Their Shade (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 39:28 minutes | 491 MB | Genre: Pop Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © New West Records, LLC

Pokey LaFarge’s ninth album, In The Blossom of Their Shade, is faithful to the musical tradition established by this St. Louis native. A talented singer and multi-instrumentalist, since his first album Marmalade was released in 2006, he has been working on a unique vision of the world that packs some humour and a particular idea of happiness, a cocktail of folk music from the Midwest with swing, blues, ragtime, and even music from the Caribbean. The first track, Get it ‘Fore It’s Gone, is a tangy little treat, a summery ritornello that gets stuck in your head after just one listen… This album also marks Pokey’s departure from Los Angeles, after several years of ups and downs and self-destruction. In 2020, the songwriter decided to move to Austin, Texas. He didn’t totally forget Los Angeles: he went to an LA studio to record part of the record, with other sessions taking place in Chicago. There, Andrew Heissler (as he is also known) recorded the ten tracks that make up this album, once again finding his loyal producer Chris Seefried at his side. In The Blossom of Their Shade is a beautiful collection of optimistic ballads, rhythmic or languid by turns, and one sometimes thinks of lazy afternoons dancing on a Hawaiian beach… Like on Drink of You, a pretty ballad where love and alcohol blend together… This is an album to be enjoyed like a mojito at the water’s edge… – Yan Céh

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