"Blake Hornsby’s bewitching and otherworldly folk seems often to come directly from the earth itself, there’s more than a touch of ancient magic that is conjured via his ragas, finger picking and shimmering landscapes. His songs are borne not just of tradition, but also from a deep well of creativity that adds something freshly innovative, unique and mesmerizing to the source material. ‘A Village of Many Springs’ is a prime example of this, a baroque folk spell conjured directly from Hornsby’s own hands."
-Grey Malkin
"Blake Hornsby is a shining light in the new breed of solo guitar pickers.
This new album showcases just how unique and captivating his playing is.
A beautifuly moving and well crafted album that is steeped deeply in the tradition but played with a heart towards the future. One of the best players going around today. I love all his work."
-Adam Geoffrey Cole
"A wonderful fingerpicking odyssey! Another chapter in the american-primitive movement, initiated by john fahey (but with roots that stretch back to Mississippi John Hurt, Etta baker, & Elizabeth Cotten.) I've performed with Blake on multiple occasions, both with an
ensemble or solo, he forever puts on quite a show! This feels close to the mystical/eastern-influenced bent of american primitive, in the vein of Robbie Basho... This record just gets weirder and weirder as it goes along, with Blake taking traditional techniques then morphing them into a jaggedy/angular web. Then the reverb opens worlds, and tanpura/harmonium drones go straight to the heart. The transparency involved in this being odes to bodies of water is quite clear - how the melodies trickle out like flowing streams, and gather together in ponds and lakes that are the drones underneath. Then come the bowed instruments riding the waves like a boat on a river. Then come the mischievous passages with demented laughter, glossolalia, and bells to close out the cycle. So many movements and quite a wild ride - highly recommended!"
-John Fernandes
"Chattanooga, Tennessee native Blake Hornsby's guitar playing flourishes and exists as gushes of pure emotional spontaneity and evocative colours. His playing embodies the vitality and spontaneous nature of Robbie Basho's earliest works...employing as Basho did, a melodic 'raga-folk' style of acoustic guitar playing. Hornsby currently lives in North Carolina (Asheville) and the region's majestic landscapes and history have made a significant impression on his musical DNA (as heard on his previous banjo-heavy albums A Collection of Traditional Folk Songs & Tunes, Volumes 1 & 2). On this latest album A Village of Many Springs we find this mystical guitarist going deeper into his idiosyncratic artistic journey - his musical is vital and absolutely gorgeous and this new body of work furthers the evolving wondrous realm of exploratory-experimental folk music of America: Blake's playing can dance jigs (Laurel Creek Blues); paint evocative and fragrant pastoral landscapes (O How the Water Flows North); thunder across misty mountains and dive into waters which cut deep below through the granite folds of the Blue Ridge (Cathedral Falls). There are also moments on the album (like the opening motif of Whispering Waters) that recall the feeling of music by British guitarist Dave Evans. His raga-esque instrumental Bury My Soul in the Linville River (accompanied by Gaia Lawing, Sam Fanthorpe, and Jonathon Sale) is mysterious and ecstatic and begins with a meditative Alap (melodic intro of a raga); a slow moving river of languid sustaining and bent notes and accompanying drone on tanpura. Hornsby's playing (as in the closing section of a raga) progressively builds into furious, ecstatic 'Jhala-esque' waves of sound accompanied by Jonathon Sale's tabla playing...the music eventually shifting down with the ensemble drawing listeners into a tranquil psychedelic soundscape of seas of bells, singing bowls, flute, voices, droning bowed violin, and tabla. A Village of Many Springs is an immersive and alluring listening experience which I highly recommend."
-Buck Curran
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Watauga (wuh-TAW-guh) is a Cherokee word that is said to translate to ‘Whispering Waters’ or ‘A Village of Many Springs’. It is also the name of a county in Western North Carolina where I lived from 2014-2022.
All of the tunes on this album not only reference Watauga and the surrounding areas, but also water. Appalachia is a place with an abundance of water.
Watauga and the surrounding counties have a very special place in my heart. This album is an ode to Watauga: A Village of Many Springs.
Whispering Waters
The title of this tune refers to one of the translations of Watauga. I wrote it while I was living on Laurel Creek Road. It’s a mixture of blues and free form guitar with an eastern flair.
Laurel Creek Blues
Named after the creek and the road I once lived on, this piece went through a lot of evolutions. I had the title before the actual tune. It’s what I would call a happy blues.
Cathedral Falls
The title of this comes from the local name of a waterfall in the Linville Gorge Wilderness. It blends Turkish folk, Arabic music, blues, and a touch of Indian influence, mixed with free jazz inspired acoustic cacophony.
O How the Water Flows North
I composed this piece in the midst of recording the album. It is dedicated to the New River, one of the oldest rivers in the world. It flows north.
Bury My Soul in the Linville River
This is based on a raga called Yaman which is an evening/nighttime raga, meaning it should be played and listened to at the later part of the day. Some gharanas (schools of Indian music) are more strict about this than others. I only perform this song at night and it was recorded at night.
I cannot take complete credit for this one although it is mostly improvised. I transcribed fixed compositions that are sometimes played in raag Yaman from a book of ragas. I would not go as far as to call this a raga because I have done minimal formal training in the Hindustani (North Indian Classical Music) genre. I tried my best to nail down some of the rules associated with this raga.
The name of the tala (rhythmic cycle) played by Jonathon Sale on tabla is called Pancham Sawari.
Sam Fanthorpe plays the electric violin which was recorded twice and Gaia Lawing plays the shruti box, which is a drone that uses bellows to produce sound. I play guitar, tamboura, and other instruments.
released December 6, 2024
Blake Hornsby: Guitar, Harmonium, Tamboura, Swarmandal, Bowed Guitar, Bowed Banjo, Bells, Singing Bowls, Shaker, Slide Whistle, Flexatone, Wooden Flute, Conch Shell, Spoken Word, Laughter, Water, Breath, Night Sky
Sam Fanthorpe: Electric Violins, Spoken Word
Jonathon Sale: Tabla, Bells, Whistling, Spoken Word
Gaia Lawing: Shruti Box
Kris Johnson: Recording Engineer
Album Art: Blake Hornsby
Graphic Design: Julien Foster
Recorded at Forest Noise in Asheville, NC, September-November, 2023
Mixed by Drew Carroll at the Bomb Shelter Studio, Nashville, TN
Mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering, Montreal, QC
A Special Thanks To: Gaia Lawing, Sam Fanthorpe, Jonathon Sale, Drew Carroll, Harris Newman, Buck Curran, Bramble Mounger, Sri Sri Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj, and my mom Pamela Prichard
