SIDES017
Josiah Steinbrick

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It brings us great joy to present to you a SIDES mix from artist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and past MoM inductee Josiah Steinbrick. Check out his album released Summer 2020 called Liquid / Devotion & Tongue Street Blue. Read about the inspiration and thought behind this mix.

“Strings” – intimate moments of fluidity and innovation from 1927-1985 for Peruvian arpa, Senegalese kora, Portuguese viola & mandolin, gut pluriarc (bow lute) from the Kalahari Desert, harp from the Tzotzil in Mexico, Burmese saung, and guitars from Haiti, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, France, Austria, and the American south. A weave of virtuoso and legendary folkloric artists with street musicians and field recordings from remote villages, culled from one-off acetates, deteriorating cassettes, ethnographic albums, studio recordings, and television performances.

Josiah Steinbrick is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer based in LA, and friend of Commend. This mix came to be out of thoughtful deliberation and reflection. The specific concept was born out of personal experiences this year, where he found himself returning to the foundational instrument in his life – the acoustic guitar. Bringing together disparate audio recordings from intentional sources, as well as some fleeting appearances, is an attempt to display the similarity in expression of the range of human emotions that we can create with similar tools. In a “true time of uncertainty”, he noticed a gravitation towards an instrument he “typically feel[s] pretty disconnect from”, and developed this mix to reflect that jumping-off point and ensuing exploration.”