Actually, there are very few “ah ha” moments in this racket—lots of “oh…no” and “heard that before”—and rarely arrives something of uncompromising quality, substance, nuance, and inventiveness—until I was sent Johanna and the Dusty Floor’s “Witch Shoes” almost a year ago.
The band, the vehicle for Aussie-born songstress Johanna Cranitch, returned last week with the video for the new track, “Fishbones,” which was directed by Jeaneen Lund and shot by Jessie Sara English and filmed “…in Iceland over two days, seasons apart—first working with three hours of sunlight on a winter’s day, when the moon was full and bright at 4PM, and then working with 23 hours of daylight in summer, when the sun was shining at 2AM.”
Prepare for the aforementioned “ah ha” moment.
From our First Date with Ms. Cranitch almost a year ago to the day, “…when I lived in London …someone gave me a Joni Mitchell record. I looked at it and thought “Gee, I better get a record player so I can listen to it.” I bought a cheap one in Kings Cross and then that was the full circle for me. I have listened to records ever since. I mean, MP3’s are great, the convenience of an i-pod is amazing—but nothing beats that crackle and depth you feel and hear from a record. I think the crackles give the music character.
When I started working in a recording studio in 2004 I had one and only one opportunity to use the tape machines. I spliced that tape and edited like a champion. I am surprisingly good at tape edits. Then, that job was finished—out of my hands until the client came back a few months later with the final product . . . a lovely shiny brand new pressed vinyl record. I was so proud that something I did in 2004 ended up on an actual record. I will never forget that…”
Johanna embarks on dates with the Cranberries as backing vocalist this Fall, and headlines Brooklyn’s Glasslands Gallery on Saturday, 9/1 with I am Lightyear and Sveta Bout. Tickets here.
Photo: Brad Trent/Damn Ugly Photography
