Feb 20, 2018

Albuquerque-based A Hawk & A Hacksaw, the duo of Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost, are releasing their eighth album Forest Bathing released by the band’s own label, Living Music Duplication on April 13. The new record features guest instrumentation from Istanbul clarinet virtouso Cüneyt Sepetçi, Hungarian cimbalom master Unger Balász, Chicago trumpeter Sam Johnson, Deerhoof’s John Dieterich and Noah Martinez, of the band Lone Piñon. Under the Radar has the premiere of new song “A Broken Road Lined With Poplar Trees”.

“Forest Bathing,” comes from a Japanese term “Shinrin-yoku” for taking in the forest atmosphere and was inspired by travels in Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey, Greece and Romania. It continues the bands tradition of collecting music and inspiration through travel, resulting in unusually stimulating music.

“This is not an urban music.” It states on the band’s press release for Forest Bathing, “It’s rural; songs of the woods and roads where there are no sidewalks or street lamps to light your way.”

Some background on the band: A Hawk and A Hacksaw began in 2000 in the small town of Saumur, France. Initially a solo vehicle for Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes, the main impetus of the project was to focus on the gray areas in borders of music and geography. The first album was released in 2002 by Cloud Recordings. Barnes met violinist Heather Trost in 2004 and the band became a duo. The pair has since released six albums, and toured extensively around the world. They have learned from and collaborated with some of the great musicians of Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey. The duo has been invited to tour with Swans, Calexico, Wilco, Andrew Bird, Portishead and Of Montreal.