Matt Downer gets fiddlin’ old-school style on new album
There ought to be an award. Few people have done as much for a particular genre of music in this area as Matt Downer. From the New Binkley Brothers to the Old Time Travelers, a myriad of solo projects and the revival of the Great Old Time Southern Fiddler’s Convention, Matt’s dedication to the preservation and performance of “old time” music is second to none.
Like his peer and contemporary Lon Eldridge, Downer is as much ethnomusicographer as anything, but while Eldridge’s contributions tend to be a bit more urban (and urbane,) Downer is pure Appalachian folk, an important and surprisingly underrepresented class of music.
For all his skill, talent and dedication to preserving—and adding to—the music that arose from and defined the region we call home, his greatest contribution is at once obvious and yet potentially overlooked. Carl Sagan, a personal hero, was no doubt a brilliant scientist and author, but the most useful thing he did for the public at large was popularizing science for the masses (a role now filled by the likes of Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye.)
In much the same way Downer has worked tirelessly to bring the music of the hills to an audience who might never have encountered it otherwise and the value of that cannot be underestimated. There are undoubtedly professional ethnomusicographers who labor away collecting and cataloging, debating and writing dissertations, but their work is practically unknown outside the halls of academia, whereas Downer works tirelessly to bring that music back in to the cultural consciousness and his success so far is a gift to the music scene in particular and the community at large.
With that in mind, it is with some excitement that he has a new album, Old Time Traveler (Original Fiddle Tunes from the Tennessee Valley) scheduled for release in two weeks on December 1st. It is worth noting that while Downer expends a great deal of effort in rediscovering old tunes, he is no less adept at writing altogether new music within the parameters of the old style and this new release is a testament to that.
There are eight tracks altogether, each one an original composition, yet I defy anyone to find a single note that does not ring with the authenticity of the oldest, most beloved and respected tunes of the region.
The album, written and performed entirely by Downer, is all instrumental: fiddle, banjo and guitar. Rarely do I review an instrumental album, not from any aversion to them, but because a) they aren’t that common here, and b) I am, at heart, a lyric guy.
I used to play music with a Russian friend of mine who was a walking encyclopedia of Russian folk, and while his English was pretty good, there was sometimes difficulty in directly translating the lyrics he sang. It was never an issue though, as we both agreed that music itself, pure, raw music, is the closest thing we have to a universal language and that is nowhere so true as in the tracks of Old Time Traveler.
Sometimes bright and festive, sometimes more somber and reflective, the wordless music of Downer’s new album beautifully captures the imagery of the hills and hollows of Tennessee, a soundtrack of the region. In an era where the phrase “roots music” has become a catch-all for every would-be rock band that bought itself a mandolin, Downer’s music brings gravitas. His roots are real and they run deep, all the way back to the music and people whose compositions and passionate performances defined a region and its people.
The album will be available via download through iTunes, etc. on December 1st, but early copies can be had now at live shows or by contacting Downer directly through the Old Time Travelers website and Facebook page.
Photo by William Johnson