the band formed in 2005 by old friends and bandmates (originally of the emo/punk influenced noise ratchet) jon and brandon and their new friend sean walker.  they were happy as a trio, and felt they would be able to create soulful and rootsy music “that they really loved”, however, they soon realized that none were able to take responsibility of lead vocals.  shortly thereafter, brandon met matt singing loudly on a bench by the train tracks (at 2:00am); the two hit it off. originally, kelly was the producer but soon joined the band.

the band said that their “music feels most at home when played it with people as opposed to at people.  there is a mystery to music played live.  it brings us out of ourselves into something bigger, something beyond our individuality.  sometimes it happens, other times the songs are just songs.”

according to their website, “the real answer to the question ‘who is delta spirit?’ lies within ode to sunshine, the band's captivating debut. recorded at a cabin in julian, california, out in the desert east of san diego, the group's diy ethic shines throughout the album, with songs honed razor-sharp over a year of non-stop touring across america”.

their second lp, history from below released june 08, 2010.  the lyrically rustic tracks are explosive and moving and have “a powerful energy that radiates musically, lyrically and vocally from the moment you hit play.”

“all we wanted to do is put the record together one song at a time,” said matthew. “it’s been three years of straight touring off our last record so most of the songs were written in hotel rooms and tested in front of an audience.  we spent six months of this last year making a record that sums up three years of growing up.”

click here for a september 18, 2008 world café set recorded by wxpn.  click here for a november 29, 2008 weekend edition story from npr.  click here to watch a may 09, 2008 set and interview recorded for morning becomes eclectic by kcrw.  click here for video of an entire gig recorded at the parish in austin by baeblemusic.com.  click here for a bunch of live songs recorded by daytrotter.  click here for a bunch of songs from rhapsody.  don't forget, the album cover image always links to sample songs and the band's image to their website.

check here to see if delta spirit have any gigs scheduled near you.

as always, please buy this album from your local independent music store by people who know and love music and not from retailers like wal-mart (soulless, globally-homogenizing, community-killers) or i-tunes (albums should be listened to as an entire composition with album cover and liner notes in hand).  incidentally, these two companies sell more music than any other retailer in the united states.  that my friend, bites.

delta spirit are everywhere.

if you agree, please spread the word (about the band and this site).

jason

don't worry if you missed the janelle monáe profile from last week: here it is.

rounder records


rounder records