Buck Curran (born May 23, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter-guitarist, record producer, painter and guitar maker.

Biography

Curran formed the psych-folk duo

Arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...

in 2005 with partner Shanti Deschaine, with whom he recorded five albums and toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe between 2006 and 2015. Curran's music is associated with the Psychedelic Folk and Indie Folk genres, though his musical origins stem from performing traditional and original Blues and Folk in the 1990s. In 2009 he produced the benefit compilation Leaves of Life (2009), which included notable artists Devendra Benhart,

Marissa Nadler Marissa Nadler (born April 5, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her ninth full-length studio album, ''The Path of the Clouds'', in October ...

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, etc. Curran also contributed to the renewal of interest in

Robbie Basho Robbie Basho (born Daniel R. Robinson, Jr., August 31, 1940 – February 28, 1986) was an American acoustic guitarist, pianist and singer. Biography Basho was born in Baltimore, and was orphaned as an infant. Adopted by the Robinson family ...

producing two tribute albums, ''We Are All One in the Sun'' (2010) and ''Basket Full of Dragons'' (2016). In the Winter of 2011/2012 The Fretboard Journal published a feature article on Robbie Basho (Voice of the Eagle) written by Curran for Issue 24. In 2019 he curated and produced a tribute to Jack Rose ''Ten Years Gone''. The album was released on the December 5th, 2019 on the 10 year anniversary of Jack's passing. In July 2016 he released his first solo record, ''Immortal Light'', a split release betwee
ESP-Disk
and Obsolete Recordings. In 2018 Curran released his second album ''Morning Haikus, Afternoon Ragas''. His third album 'No Love Is Sorrow' was released during lockdown in Bergamo, Italy which became the initial epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe in the late winter and early spring of 2020. Curran was interviewed by Pitchfork in March 2020 at the beginning of the lockdown. On May 1 of 2020 he performed a 'Tiny Desk Home Concert' for NPR. Curran is also an artist and painted the cover for ''Basket Full of Dragons''. In July 2014 his paintings were part of a special exhibition in Denmark at the Fano Free Folk Festival, during which he also presented a special discussion on his spontaneous brushstroke technique using watercolors and improvisation in art. In 2017 his paintings were exhibited in Bergamo, Italy in December 2017 at InArteWerkkunst Gallery during the NOWART Exhibition. As well, he is a notable guitar maker who worked from 2002 to 2009 for renowned Maine luthier

Dana Bourgeois Dana Bourgeois (born 1953) is a luthier, writer, lecturer and is considered one of the United States' top acoustic guitar makers. Bourgeois's innovations in design and voicing techniques have earned him worldwide acclaim for his acoustic guitars fr ...

, where he developed his own guitar model called Butterfly. His prototype for the Butterfly was included (alongside other notable luthiers from Maine: Dana Bourgeois, John Slobod, etc.) in the 'Player's Art': Guitar Exhibition at the Colby College Museum of Art May 7 thru July 17, 2005. Acoustic Guitar Magazine featured one of Curran's Butterfly guitars (made in 2006) for their 'Great Acoustics' article in their March 2012 issue. In 2017 Acoustic Guitar Magazine featured Curran's acoustic guitar instrumental 'River Unto Sea' in their June issue, followed by Curran's acoustic guitar instrumental 'Song for Liam' in their March/April 2019 issue. In the January/February 2022 issue of Acoustic Guitar featured Buck Curran's 'Long Lost 2009 Sobell Model 1' for their 'Great Acoustics' page. Guitar Magazine/String Letter Media also included Buck Curran's 'Song for Liam' in their new publication ''DADGAD Guitar Essentials''(2022). In 2022 the Bert Jansch Foundation asked Buck to participate in 'For Bert Jansch: Around the World in 80 Plays', a special project featuring performance videos of select musicians playing special 'Bert Jansch' Yamaha guitars that were sent around the world. Curran's video was filmed in historic Città Alta in Bergamo, Italy. Videos and artist pages have been published at Bert Jansch Foundation dot org. Curran's acoustic and electric guitar playing is characterized by the extensive use of low alternate tunings, slide, Ebow, reverb, manipulating string overtones and dynamics creating haunting voice-like timbres on the instrument.

Discography

Albums

* ''Immortal Light'' (2016,

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York–based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), E ...

/Obsolete Recordings) * ''Morning Haikus, Afternoon Ragas'' (2018,

/Obsolete Recordings) * ''No Love Is Sorrow'' (2020,

/Obsolete Recordings) * ''Delights and Dangers of Ambiguity (Improvisations 2017-2022)'' (2023, Obsolete Recordings) * ''The Long Distance'' (2023, Obsolete Recordings/2024, CD & Tape Eiderdown Records) * ''One Evening and Other Folk Songs'' (2024, Obsolete Recordings/ESP-Disk')

EPs

* ''Standing Rock'' (2017, Obsolete Recordings) * The Rushings feat. Buck Curran ''Nashville West Session'' (2016, Obsolete Recordings) * Adele H feat. Buck Curran, ''Dogmas EP'' (2017, Obsolete Recordings) * WFMU ''The Frow Show'' Live Session (Feat. Jodi Pedrali) (2021, Obsolete Recordings)

Various Artist Compilations and other albums produced and curated by Buck Curran

* ''Leaves of Life'' (2009, Darla Records) * ''We Are All One, In The Sun: A Tribute to Robbie Basho'' (2010,

Important Records Important Records is an American independent record label based in Groveland, Massachusetts. History John Brien started Important Records in 2001 out of his Newburyport, Massachusetts apartment, initially as an online store. Important's first tw ...

/ 2011 alt.vinyl) * ''Basket Full Of Dragons: A Tribute to Robbie Basho Vol 2'' (2016, Obsolete Recordings) * ''Robbie Basho: Live in Forli, Italy 1982'' (2017, ESP-Disk/Obsolete Recordings) * ''Ten Years Gone: A Tribute to Jack Rose'' (2019, Tompkins Square) * ''Ten Years Gone: A Tribute to Jack Rose'' (2022, Obsolete Recordings - Digital Reissue w/extra tracks) * ''Winter Solstice: A Tribute to Steffen Basho-Junghans'' (2023, Obsolete Recordings)

Records with Arborea

* ''Wayfaring Summer'' (Summer Street, 2006) * ''Arborea'' (Fire Museum, 2008) * ''House of Sticks'' (Borne!/Darla, 2009) * ''Red Planet'' (Strange Attractors Audio House, 2011) * ''Fortress of the Sun'' (

, 2013)

References

External links

* NPR Music
Buck Curran NPR Tiny Desk Home Concert
May 1, 2020 * Premier Guitar
Buck Curran's Transcendental Folk Guitar
March 24, 2020 * Acoustic Guitar Magazine
Buck Curran's Long Lost 2009 Sobell Model 1
December 15, 2021 * Acoustic Guitar Magazine
World Premiere: Learn to play Buck Curran's 'Song for Liam'
January 28, 2019 * Pitchfork
A Working Guitarist in Italy's Hardest-Hit Coronavirus City Talks Life Under Lockdown
March 16, 2020 * Relix Magazine
Steve Gunn, William Tyler and Chris Forsyth on The New Golden Age of Guitar
by Jesse Jarnow on July 19, 2016 * Guitar Player
Buck Curran on Arborea's Avant-Folk Aesthetics
by Barry Cleveland, September 18, 2013 * NPR
Arborea Tiny Desk Concert
May 17, 2012
Prog Magazine, Buck Curran - Immortal Light album review
February 15, 2017 * Folk Radio UK
Buck Curran Featured Interview
by Alex Gallacher, September 30, 2016 * Peghead Nation
Buck's Vinyl Solution
by Derk Richardson, January 3, 2017 * NOWART
NOWART Art Exhibition
by InArte Werkunst Gallery, December 1, 2017 * NPR
Tribute to Jack Rose
December 5, 2019 * Bert Jansch Foundatio
For Bert Jansch: Around the World in 80 Plays 'Buck Curran artist page'
March, 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Buck 1967 births Living people American male guitarists American male painters American male singer-songwriters Record producers from Florida Guitar makers