There Is No Other

by Rhiannon Giddens

Overview

Often, the phrase "there is no other" carries an air of romanticism, but Rhiannon Giddens turns its conventional meaning on its head on her collaboration with Francesco Turrisi. The pair focus directly on "othering," the process of identifying different cultures as alien from a person's own experience -- a phenomenon that the pair refute not only with the title of their 2019 album but the very music it contains. Giddens claims classical music and old-timey folk as her musical heritage; Turrisi is a jazz musician who studied early music -- backgrounds that provide a considerable amount of common ground, something that is evident throughout the restless, haunting There Is No Other. While it's possible to trace individual elements back to their origins -- much of the music churns to a Mediterranean drone, Giddens' dexterous claw-hammered banjo is at the forefront -- it takes close listening to parse these parts, as the duo are determined to emphasize common threads that tie cultures together. It makes for a heady listen in every sense of the word. Certainly, it's a record that rewards close listening -- there's an intellectual thrill in hearing how the musical and lyrical themes intertwine -- but it's also a visceral album, equally enchanting and eerie. By initially connecting at this gut emotional level, There Is No Other invites the repeated listens required to discover all of its mysteries but Giddens and Turrisi are by no means offering solutions: the more There Is No Other reveals, the more it becomes apparent that its depths are fathomless. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	05/03/2019
Label:	Nonesuch
UPC:	0075597925302
Rank:	8513

Tracks

1. Ten Thousand Voices
2. Gonna Write Me a Letter
3. Wayfaring Stranger
4. There Is No Other
5. Trees on the Mountains
6. Pizzica di San Vito
7. Brown Baby
8. Briggs' Forr¿¿
9. Little Margaret
10. Black Swan
11. I'm on My Way
12. He Will See You Through

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Rhiannon Giddens   Primary Artist,Banjo,Viola,Fiddle,Violin,Vocals,Octave Violin
Francesco Turrisi   Featured Artist,Lute,Banjo,Cello,Drums,Piano,Bendir,Tombak,Vocals,Accordion,Frame Drum,Tambourine,Tamburello,Featured Artist
Kate Ellis   Cello,Viola

Technical Credits

Carlisle Floyd   Composer
Gian Carlo Menotti   Composer
David Bither   Executive Producer
Larry Unger   Arranger
Francesco Turrisi   Arranger
Jeri Heiden   Design
Traditional   Composer
Joe Henry   Composer,Producer
Ryan Freeland   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Ola Belle Reed   Composer
Hermeto Pascoal   Composer
Rhiannon Giddens   Arranger,Composer
Kim Rosen   Mastering
Dirk Powell   Composer
Oscar Brown, Jr.   Composer
Karen Cox   Photography
Thomas Briggs   Composer