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| The Sri Lankan Woody Guthrie Bhi Bhiman Confirms New Album Out January 24 On January 24, Bhi Bhiman will release his new album 'Bhiman' on BooCoo Music. A clever storyteller with a "wry eye for detail" (SF Bay Guardian), Bhiman works in the tradition of songwriters like John Prine, Nick Lowe and Randy Newman, but from a 21st century polyglot perspective. Bhiman's soulful, instantly striking voice has been compared to Bill Withers, Richie Havens, and Jim James, while the Willamette Week described him as "a traveling Dust Bowl folkie crossed with Nina Simone." The eleven new songs on 'BHIMAN' - tracked at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone studios by engineer Jay Pellicci and produced by Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Langhorne Slim) - finds Bhiman singing from the perspective of a railroading hobo ("Guttersnipe"), an oppressed North Korean ("Kimchee Line"), and other characters. Bhi Bhiman (pronounced "Bee Bee-men") was born to emigrant Sri Lankan parents and named after Bhima, a central character in an ancient Indian text called The Mahabharata. He came of age in the '90s in St. Louis, reared on Soundgarden and Nirvana, but 'BHIMAN' covers a wide stylistic range, from country and soul, to West African-influenced folk. Through every deviation of style, Bhiman's powerful voice and love of wordplay carry the listener on a compelling journey. Bhi Bhiman has confirmed a string of dates on both coasts in December, including Brooklyn on Dec. 4 at Public Assembly's "Communion" series (full schedule below). More dates will be announced soon. Bhi Bhiman Tour Dates: 12/04 - New York, NY @ Public Assembly (Communion) 12/09 - Petaluma, CA @ The Mystic Theater* 12/11- San Francisco, CA @ The Independent* 12/14 - Santa Barbara, CA @ SOhO* 01/09 - New York, New York @ APAP Conference * w/ Charlie Hunter 'BHIMAN' Tracklist: 1). Guttersnipe 2). Time Heals 3). Crime Of Passion 4). Take What I'm Given 5). Mexican Wine 6). Kimchee Line 7). Cookbook 8). Atlatl 9). Eye On You 10). Ballerina 11). Life's Been Better write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Jazz News :: home page |