From The Big Easy to The Pearl of the Antille
Blues-fusion singer Seth Walker waswandering throughthe streets of Havanawhen a paintingcaught his eye—a man standingunder an umbrella, rain fallingon his head from inside hissupposed protection. FidelCastro had just died, and musicwas still banned across Cuba asa way to pay respect to the fallenleader. The reason Walker hadcome to the island was suddenlynixed. The whole world feltinside out, he remembers.
“The image in that paintingjust burned into me, and Iimmediately wrote this poem toit,” Walker says two years later.Soon enough, he’d paired thepoem with a slippery bass riffhe’d recorded at an Asheville,N.C. soundcheck monthsearlier—and the knotty groove“Inside” was born. Walker knewhe was on to something new.
With his tenth album, Are You Open?, the North Carolina-bred musician has added a deliciously different twist to the rootsy, rhythmic, folk-influenced sound he’s been cultivating for two decades. And he’s got two musical cities to thank for it: New Orleans and Havana.
Walker had already spent much of his long career living in two other legendary music towns, Austin and Nashville. However, his 2016 Cuba trip and a move to the Big Easy shortly after, inspired him to craft a new, jubilant, boogie-down, bass-heavy groove sound—complete with the most heartfelt lyrics of his career.
“My environment has alwaysaffected me deeply,” says Walker.“I bleed into them, and they bleedinto me. And being open to that isthe responsibility of any artist.”
Walker released “Spirits Moving,” the first finished product from his New Orleans stay, as a stand-alone single in 2017. It was a key clue that his sound was evolving. The track danced out of the studio, with shuffling percussion from jazz drummer Johnny Vidacovich, keyboard wizardry courtesy of John Medeski and Walker singing, “Feels so good, I feel like jumping for joy/ Spirit moving through me, Lord!”
“I remember Vidacovichpointing to the syncopatedbassline and saying, ‘You see thatpush right there? That’s whatmakes it not country. That’swhat makes it New Orleans,’”says Walker. “That rhythm, thatsyncopation, is everywhere inthe city. Not just in the music. Ifyou can’t get inspired there, youain’t breathin’.”
Armed with a slew of newsongs, Walker returned toNashville to lay down Are YouOpen? with The Wood Brothers’Jano Rix serving as his producer.They recorded at home andtook their time, letting thewarm, welcoming tunes unfoldnaturally. From the liquidguitar of “Hard Road” to thetiptoeing bass of “Giving It AllAway,” the men built the songson simple grooves. The coverart—an abstract self-portraitWalker painted—adds to thehumble, exciting explorationof Are You Open?
“It’s important to ask the question because we close ourselves off so much. We live in our little bubbles, our velvet ruts,” says Walker. “But you’ve got to stay open. It’s a big ol’ world out there.”
This article originally appears in the March 2019 issue of Relix. For more features, interviews, album reviews and more, subscribe here.
