Douglas Septewmber's cd OIL TAN BOW is a collection of songs which defy description. Combining delta blues, dust bowl balladeering, shortwave/techno-fizz, & aural collage experimentation with a literary element suggestive of William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Harpo Marx & the 21stC sensibilities of Jonathan Lethem, OIL TAN BOW represents a reinvention of roots music.
Teamed with guitarist & long-time collaborator Robby Aceto, with looping/remix guru David Torn (SPLaTTeRCeLL), Douglas September’s songs take on angular, unexpected shapes; fusing gritty vintage guitar tones with nutty digital distortion & lo-fi loops. Robby Aceto’s elegant guitar work - abetted by Torn's highly inventive rule-breaking production style provide a perfect setting for the centerpiece of this recording; namely September’s incredible voice.
On tracks like “Old Stray Dog”, he sings as though he were channelling someone’s crazed grandpappy. At the same time, he is capable of emoting the most subtle unashamed honesty as he does in his version of the classic traditional Scots ballad, “Wild Mountain Thyme”. From the disturbing hobo noir of “Why Don’t It Move?” to his desperately beautiful rendering of “Girl From the North Country”, September’s spare & unadorned vocals draw the listener into a world of deep emotional complexity.
Recorded for the most part live at Torn’s CeLL Labs Studio, small snippets of September’s bizarre home-brewed musical pastiche are interspersed throughout, creating a compelling window on the good man in a hard place psyche of a post-industrial vagabond. OIL TAN BOW adventures deep into the internal territories which have also been explored by admitted heroes Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, & poet Arthur Rimbaud. Much like the atmosphere of the fictions that frame the music, OIL TAN BOW is a work which dem&s repeated immersions into its complete & finely crafted dark universe.


 
OIL TAN BOW (2001)
Produced by SPLaTTeRCell (David Torn) and Robby Aceto with additional production by Douglas September
Recorded at eSTudio CeLL, Bearsville, NY and The Boiler Room, Toronto, ON
Musicians:
Douglas September, Robby Aceto (Guitars, Loops, Accordion), SPLaTTeRCell (Additional Freq Programming & Rythym Arrangements)
(c) 2001 Lupins Productions

1. Ol’ Stray Dog (3:47)
(Douglas September)

2. Why Don’t It Move (8:10)
(Douglas September and Robby Aceto)

3. Oil Tan Bow (0:39)
(Douglas September)

4. Message In The Wine (4:48)
(Douglas September )

5. Makin’ Biscuits (0:29)
(Douglas September)

6. Girl From the North Country (5:40)
(Bob Dylan)

7. Rat Rage (1:14)
(Douglas September)

8. The Professor (8:01)
(Douglas September and Robby Aceto)

9. Trouble (5:20)
(Douglas September)

10. Yessir, That’s My Baby! (0:51)
(Kahn and Donaldson)

11. Goin’ Home (4:04)
(Douglas September)

12. I Ain’t Got No Home (5:32)
(Woody Guthrie)

13. If I Go Down Take Your Bullet Back (3:42)
(Douglas September)

14. Wild Mountain Thyme (6:32)
(Traditional, Arranged by Robby Aceto)

15. Two Dollar Mudder (On A Dry Track) (3:32)
(Douglas September)

16. When I Die (All My Troubles Can Stay) (3:22)
(Douglas September)

Produced by SPLaTTeRCeLL (David Torn), Robby Aceto and Douglas September

 
IO (2000)
Produced by Douglas September, Robby Aceto, Rich DePaolo, Bill King, Steve LeGassick, Michael Price, Randy Gerston and Steve Lindsay
Recorded at Pyramid Sound, Ithaca, NY and Cornerstone Studios, Chatworth, CA
Musicians:
Douglas September, Robby Aceto (Guitars, Ambient loops, Harmonium, Vibes, Alto Mandolin, Accordion), Bill King (Drums), Rich DePaolo (Bass), Steve LeGassick (Guitars, Keyboards), and Michael Price (Guitars)
(c) 2000 Samson Music

1. Vanishing Night(3:53)

2. Room Full Of Strangers(4:35)

3. Mystic River Bridge(4:28)

4. Happy Hour(4:24)

5. The Truth That Kills(4:44)

6. Message In the Wine(3:46)

7. Awaken (3:49)

8. Romeo's Dead(5:47)

9. Jupiter (5:27)

10. The Light(3:29)

11. The Professor(6:55)

 
TEN BULLS (1998)
Produced by Michael Shrieve
Recorded at Stepping Stone Studios, Seattle, WA
Musicians:
Douglas September, Bill Frisell (Guitar), Wayne Horvitz (Keyboards), Michael Rhodes (Bass), Michael Shrieve (Drums & Percussion), Loops & Textures (David Torn)
(c) Samson Music

1. Profit Avenue(4:51)

2. Another Man(3:47)

3. English Eyes(3:37)

4. Lady and I(4:49)

5. That Country Is So Far Away(3:25)

6. Time It Don't Mean Nothin'(4:16)

7. The Change(4:49)

8. Tonight(5:21)

9. 3:54(3:50)

10. I Ain't Got No Home(3:42)

11. I shall Not Walk Alone(5:48)

12. Crows(3:45)

Produced by Michael Shrieve


 
CROWS (1996)
[Debut CD
Produced by Vaughn Passmore
Recorded at Invisible Sound, Toronto, ON
(c) 1996 Lupins Productions

1. Crows

2. Goodbye

3. Karina

4. Lady and I

5. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

6. The Strand

7. Who Killed Sandy Seale?

8. I Ain't Got No Home

9. Please Ignore Gun Shots

Produced by Vaughn Passmore