For Immediate Release
Contact: Ceci Gilson
Omnivore
Media ccgilson@gwi.net State Secrets (Ordnung & Hartmann) is the new
10-song disc from singer-songwriter Robert Williams. Produced by George
Marinelli (guitarist for Bonnie Raitt and Bruce Hornsby), the disc showcases
Williams’ uniquely-informed world view and lyrical, roots-driven songcraft that
highlights a passionate view of life in a complicated and changing world. While
his foundation as an American singer-songwriter with a solid roots spin is
dominant, Robert’s singular sound comes from many years spent as part of the
now-infamous Hagelberger Collective, a multi-national group of like-minded
musicians living and playing in Berlin in the seventies. “It was kind of a
musical commune,” says Williams, and it has infused his work with a broad
musical range including a fondness for the occasional cabaret-influenced waltz
or jazz-inflected romp, and lyrics inhabited by an often bizarre cast of
characters. Born and raised in Oklahoma, the undeniable roots flavor of his
work comes from time spent living and playing in Kansas City, Houston, Austin,
and Burlington, Vermont. (He currently lives in Cairo, Egypt nine months of the
year.) Highlights
of the new disc include the title cut, “State Secrets.” The mandolin and
guitar-propelled waltz weaves its way through a champagne haze of
half-remembered images of last night’s rendezvous. The ghost of Marlena, a
broken-nosed bouncer, and Wig Lady all whirl by in an ex-patriate’s seeming
nightmare of too much Ouzo (“it’s bad for the gig”) and secrets better kept
safe. Underneath it all, runs a vein of Texas twang and country harmonies on
the refrain. “Buffalo Billy” blends
the gloriously melodic, lilting guitar lines of Williams and George Marinelli
with a bit of ethereal dobro in a
poignant glimpse of an aging hippy looking for the life that has passed him by.
In keeping with the album’s international flavor, Robert traveled to Toronto to
record the dobro and soaring harmonies on the refrain with Hagelbergers Stephen
Miller and Shelley Beal. “How
Long (‘Til the End of the World)” marries an all-out Texas roadhouse romp to a
killer hook in a song of outrage, mocking the righteousness of those seeking
“eternal salvation at a bargain price” from the midnite hucksters on cable
television. Williams’ agile lyrics highlight this riff-driven bit of rootsy pop
sensibility. State Secrets will be released in the US on November
1, in conjunction with Williams’ appearance in this year’s DAFT tour of the US.
DAFT, the DAFT is a traveling roots music festival that presents the best of German
and American music traditions as a unique mix of traditional and contemporary
music with singer/songwriters from both countries coming together to share
their music and words. The 11-date tour culminates with
performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and at the Northeastern
Regional Folk Alliance, in Monticello, NY. Check
www.robertwilliamsmusic.com
to order the CD, download samples, and for updated information on retail
outlets. Related
links: www.oha-records.com (Ordnung &
Hartmann Records) For
further info and interviews, contact Ceci Gilson, Omnivore Media, (207)
729-0850. ccgilson@gwi.net