Brightblack Morning Light is a musical group formed in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

by guitarist Nathan Shineywater and pianist Rachael Hughes, both of whom are from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. The band has been "linked to a spirit of folky 1960's revivalism", and they were called one of the leaders of the "freak folk" scene. Praised for their recordings, the band also organized a number of small folk festivals in Northern California. The band eschewed commercial exposure, having chosen a relatively quiet and luxury-free life—they have lived in cars, tents, converted chicken-coops, and cabins, and have recorded music using

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

. They were described as "back-to-the-land idealists and activists" who are influenced by such writers and activists as

Edward Abbey Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989) was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views. His best-known works include the nov ...

Leonard Peltier Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is a Native American activist and member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who was convicted of murdering two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in a June 26, 1975, shooting on the Pine Rid ...

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

, and

Carlos Castaneda Carlos César Salvador Arana (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998), better known as Carlos Castaneda, was an American anthropologist and writer. Starting in 1968, Castaneda published a series of books that describe a training in shamanism t ...

. Shineywater also cites

Ram Dass Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and writer. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...

, Rachel Grimes, and

Hamza El Din Hamza El Din (Arabic حمزة علاء الدين) (July 10, 1929 – May 22, 2006) was an Egyptian Nubian composer, oud player, tar player, and vocalist. He was born in southern Egypt and was an internationally known musician of his native reg ...

History

In 2002, while called Brightblack, the band recorded an album named ''Ala.Cali.Tucky'' of songs they had performed while called Rainywood, on Galaxia Records. The album was well-received, and praised for its vocal harmonies. The current band was founded in 2004. In 2005 BrightBlack Morning Light played at

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...

, a music festival in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, at the invitation of the Kentucky band

Slint Slint was an American Rock music, rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986 after the dissolution of two local bands, Squirrel Bait and Maurice. It initially consisted of guitarist-vocalist Brian McMahan, guitaris ...

. That same year the band signed with

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City ap ...

and released their eponymous debut album, sold in Europe as well as America. In Belgium, the album received a positive review as well, in the weekly ''

HUMO ''Humo'' (stylized in all caps) is a popular Dutch-language Belgian weekly radio and television magazine. History and profile ''Humoradio'' (meaning a portmanteau of 'humor' and 'radio' in English) was first published in 1936 as a Dutch-langua ...

''. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it "extraordinary" and praised it for its "mesmerizing, hollowed-out grooves". In 2008, Matador released BBML's '' Motion to Rejoin''. The album was recorded in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, electricity for the recording sessions was generated by four

panels. ''Motion to Rejoin'' received attention in the United States as well as in Europe, "Top 5 Alternative Albums of 2008" UK GUARDIAN, with reviews and press coverage in Belgium and Germany. In the year of 2009 BBML headlined/toured extensively multiple times across the USA and Europe, including Transmusicales France & ATP curation by My Bloody Valentine. In 2012 the band had a digital release entitled "LIVE JOURNAL ONE Instrumentals (2006 & 2008)". Naybob Shineywater has a project with My Bloody Valentine co-Founder entitled Library Of Sands.

Quiet Quiet music festivals

The "Quiet Quiet" festivals were first started by Shineywater in 2003 in

Bolinas, California Bolinas is an unincorporated coastal community and census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,483. It is located on the California coast, approximately (straight line dis ...

, and have been organized in various locations in the area, including

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Range, Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from th ...

. Bands and artists invited to play have included harpist

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. After recording and self-releasing two EPs in 2002, Newsom signed to the independent label Drag City (record label), Drag City. Her debut album, ''The Milk-Eyed ...

, Women & Children, Lavender Diamond, Sunroof!, Ramblin Jack Elliott,

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

, and

Devendra Banhart Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California. In 2000, he dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute to pursue a musical career. ...

. In 2006, the line-up included Greenwich Village folk veteran Michael Hurley, members of the post-hardcore band

Lungfish Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the class Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, inc ...

Vetiver ''Chrysopogon zizanioides'', commonly known as vetiver and khus, is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae. Vetiver is most closely related to sorghum while sharing many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such as ...

, and the debut of Northern California folk singer

Mariee Sioux Mariee Siou (born February 4, 1985) is an American folk singer-songwriter. Biography Her father Gary Sobonya is a mandolin player of Polish and Hungarian descent, and her mother Felicia is of Spanish, Paiute, and Indigenous Mexican descent. Si ...

, who BBML also took on national and European tours as main support. At an early Quiet Quiet gig in Bolinas, signs appeared at road junctions directing those interested where to go. At the gig itself, held at Smiley's Saloon in Bolinas and the Bolinas Community Center, locals mixed uneasily with hipsters there for the gig, and Shineywater could be heard repeatedly hushing the crowd so that the unamplified bands could be heard above the saloon din. The show was extremely profitable for the musicians and audience; the banned camping on the beach weeks after the festival because so many tents appeared on the beach. Shineywater encouraged the beach as a place to camp for "all those too wasted to drive back to San Francisco".

Line-up

*Rachael Hughes –

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

s *Nathan Shineywater –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

, keys

Supporting musicians

*Noah Wilson –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

*Elias Reitz –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

*Otto Hauser –

*Andy Macleod – drums *

Paz Lenchantin Paz Lenchantin (born December 12, 1973) is an Argentine-American musician. She is best known for having been the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of the alternative rock band Pixies (band), Pixies, playing with the band and recording three stu ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

*Gail West – vocals *Ann McCrary – vocals *Matthew Davis – Trombone *Stuart Bogie – Saxophone *M.Bauder – Flute *Robbie Lee – Flute

Discography

*''Ala.Cali.Tucky'' (2003, Galaxia) *''Pebbles and Ripples'' (2004, Split 7" with Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Self-released) *'' Brightblack Morning Light'' (2006,

) *'' Motion to Rejoin'' (2008, Matador Records) *Lungfish/Brightblack Morning Light (2009, Split 7", Harvest Recordings) *2012 "LIVE JOURNAL ONE Instrumentals (2006 & 2008) digital iTunes release

References

External links

Brightblack Morning Light site
{{Authority control American folk musical groups Psychedelic folk groups