David Dye

KT Tunstall On World Cafe

David Dye — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:07:00 +0000

In the spring of 2012, Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall traveled to Tucson, Ariz., to work on her sixth album, Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon. But before she could return to finish the record, a lot happened in her personal life: The death of her father, as well as the dissolution of her marriage to drummer Luke Bullen, left Tunstall in a standstill.

José James On World Cafe

David Dye — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:15:00 +0000

Originally from Minneapolis, José James began chasing his dreams of jazz singing at 17. He found his way to London and New York, and eventually ended up at The New School to study jazz vocals. James was always interested in a musical place where jazz, R&B, hip-hop and more can all come together.

James finds that musical niche on his new album, No Beginning, No End.

John Mellencamp, Stephen King And T-Bone Burnett On World Cafe

David Dye — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:33:00 +0000

Stephen King, John Mellencamp and T-Bone Burnett's collaboration on the musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County began 13 years ago.

Low Cut Connie On World Cafe

David Dye — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:36:00 +0000

Low Cut Connie is a Philadelphia band led by piano player Adam Weiner, who's a born ham: an entertainer who will pound his piano (and his listeners) into submission. Low Cut Connie began when Weiner and his partner, Englishman Dan Finnemore, decided to team up.

In this installment of World Cafe, the band plays music from last year's Call Me Sylvia and tells the tale of bonding in a stuck freight elevator.

World Cafe Next: Last Good Tooth

David Dye — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:14:00 +0000

Last Good Tooth shares a hometown — Providence, R.I. — with The Low Anthem, and the two bands have both shown a penchant for experimenting with fiddles and Appalachian music.

Led by songwriter Penn Sultan, the son of sculptor Donald Sultan, Last Good Tooth crafts free-wheeling songs, marked by delightful extended breaks and smart lyrics. The group recently relocated to New York City, and its new album (Not Without Work and Rest) is out now on Conor Oberst's Team Love Records.

Patty Griffin On World Cafe

David Dye — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:02:00 +0000

It's a middle-age milestone, dealing with a parent's death. Singer-songwriter Patty Griffin turns the experience into powerful moments on her new album, American Kid. The album features songs inspired by everything from her dad exclaiming "Don't let me die in Florida!" to the gleam in her grandfather's eye on his own wedding day.

Since winning a Grammy for her gospel album Downtown Church, Griffin has been touring with Robert Plant in Band of Joy; the two have made their own home together in Austin, Texas.

Madeleine Peyroux On World Cafe

David Dye — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:08:00 +0000

Madeleine Peyroux started singing blues and jazz on the streets of Paris.

Next: The Oh Hellos

David Dye — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 19:34:00 +0000

Tyler and Maggie Heath, siblings from San Marcos, Texas, self-released their independent album, Through the Deep, Dark Valley, in October of last year. It was the culmination of a collaboration that began a couple years ago, when they wrote their first song together — for their mom. She liked it, but more importantly, they liked the process.

The two value working as independents by choice — they produced Through the Deep, Dark Valley themselves — and, based on the sophisticated layering of their songs, I'm not sure how much an outside producer would improve things.

Jamie Lidell On World Cafe

David Dye — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:12:00 +0000

British producer and singer Jamie Lidell is one of electronic music's funkiest solo practitioners. When Lidell visited World Cafe in 2006 to support his successful album Multiply, he told host David Dye that he had been called the "one-man human funk tornado" — a moniker he earns yet again in this session.

In this installment of World Cafe, Lidell plays songs from his new self-titled album and discusses the process of making the record at his new home studio in Nashville.

Petula Clark On World Cafe

David Dye — Thu, 30 May 2013 15:24:00 +0000

Petula Clark's new album, Lost In You, is her first since 2004.