Pokey LaFarge has spent years threading early American vernacular music, Western swing, and Gulf Coast R&B into something that feels genuinely lived-in rather than revivalist. That restlessness, both geographic and musical, has always been central to who he is, and *Rhumba Country* finds him channeling a grounded new chapter into some of the most sonically adventurous work of his career.
After crisscrossing the nation for the last half-decade looking for a home,PokeyLaFargefound himself in Mid-Coast Maine. Upon arriving, the Illinois-born singer/songwriter/actor pursued a major life change, working 12-hour days on a local farm—aturn of events that catalyzed an extraordinary burst of creativity and redefined hissense of purpose as an artist.Rhumba Countrywas initially shaped from materialthat emerged while LaFarge was deep in work on the farm. “I’d be pushing a plowor scattering seeds, and the songs would just come to me,” he recalls. “It wastremendously inspirational and made me realize that apart from singing, farming isperhaps the oldest human art form.” While farming, LaFarge began dreaming up akaleidoscopic sound informed by his love of music from far-ranging eras and cornersof the globe, including mambo, tropicália, rocksteady, and mid-century Americanrock-and-roll. “The songs that naturally come to me are upbeat and make you wannadance or at least bop your head—they’re all very colorful,” says LaFarge. “I used tothink of my music in dark blue, but now I see it in technicolor.” Co-produced alongwith Chris Seefried and Elliot Bergman and recorded in L.A., the resulting RhumbaCountry is an invitation to come together to celebrate life and love.
Tracklist
1. One You, One Me (3:13)
2. For A Night (3:13)
3. Run Run Run (3:34)
4. Like A Sailor (3:45)
5. Sister André (3:05)
6. So Long Chicago (3:37)
7. It's Not Over (3:56)
8. Home Home Home (2:41)
9. Made To Be Loved (3:29)
10. You Make My Garden Grow (4:50)
UPC: 607396655328 Label: New West Records Release Date: 5.10.24 Format: CD
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