This past weekend, I hosted a concert in my backyard for a friend and singer-songwriter, Brooke Brown Saracino. It’s the second house concert I’ve hosted, and I’m becoming a huge fan of this kind of intimate, cozy listening experience. It’s so different to hear a song played against a backdrop of noisy bar patrons! We were arranged in a little semi-circle around Brooke and her touring-mate Hazel Starling as the two serenaded their listeners against a backdrop of my garden and the sultry summer sky. It was quite lovely.
Brooke just came out with a new ep of songs on July 9, called Architecture. Her music can be soft and sweet, but often with a salty, melancholy texture. I think Brooke’s sense of rhythm is unique in the world of folk-music, and it shows in her masterful guitar and tenor ukulele playing. The spare recordings on Architecture also feature a xylophone and the percussion of popcorn popping. (No really! Check out Track #2, Taxidermy Heart…)
I wanted to blog about Brooke because, well for one thing, I want everyone to hear her music, but also because Turtle Love Co. loves to support independent artists. I remember when Brooke was making her first album, Treading Water. As a culmination of her senior year at college, she recorded, edited, and produced the entire album herself using our school’s small recording studio. She enlisted the musical talents of our friends to fill out the sound of her quiet, thoughtful songs, resulting ina beautiful first album that was a truly grassroots effort. What an amazing accomplishment!
Brooke’s music is available at CDBaby – do check out Architecture. I can’t stop humming In the Bar Light and Your Body Lost…