The wild blue yonder looms

I fancy a bit of Joanna Newsom today.

No reason.

I just do. So here you go. A few live tracks recorded for a session from around the time she was promoting 'The Milk Eyed Mender'. The untitled track is a short improvised piece she did to demonstrate the sound made by a prepared harp. I think that's what she called it anyway. Essentially she was discussing how there are so many more interesting sounds you can make with the harp than the favoured traditional style. So she intertwined a folded piece of paper between some of the strongs and gave a demonstration of one such style. It seems to flatten it a bit. Shorten the vibrations and create a sound similar to a slightly muted banjo. Kind of. Possibly. And that, may possibly be the least technical but most muddled way of describing harp playing you're likely to read.

Joanna Newsom - untitled improvisation for prepared harp(live session version)

Joanna Newsom - clam, crab, cockle, cowrie (live session version)

Joanna Newsom - sadie (live session version)

Joanna Newsom - swamsea (live session version)

mp3 / music / joanna newsom