Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Alec Ounsworth Talks Solo Disc “Mo Beauty”: Hear the Album

October 20th, 2009 by Brian Hiatt Leave a reply »

Photo: Michael Regan

Alec Ounsworth has released albums with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and as Flashy Python, but he’s casting out under his own name for the first time with his solo debut, Mo Beauty (hear the whole record, which is in stores today, after the jump). Rolling Stone caught up with the Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter to get the story behind the new album and an update on the future of CYHSY.

How did you come to record this album in New Orleans?
I was there for an artists’ retreat where they brought down a bunch of musicians — Will Oldham, Nicole Atkins, Hank Shocklee from Public Enemy — basically they brought in musicians to sort of say, “Here’s the situation in New Orleans years after the flood.” They were giving us an idea of what was happening down there and asking us to take it with us and speak out to anybody else who might be able to help.

[Los Lobos producer] Steve Berlin was another one of those artists. I met him there, and he suggested that we try to work on a record together with the musicians in New Orleans, and I’ve always had a thing for New Orleans, as many musicians have. It’s just so full of talent and so many interesting personalities that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. And also working with Steve was a glimpse into another world, really. Steve’s maybe a little more experienced than most of the people I’ve worked with in the past.

Were some of those songs from that huge cache of tracks you had from before Clap Your Hands Say Yeah?
Yeah, for the first Clap Your Hands Say Yeah record a lot of that stuff was pretty old from before that even started. I would say five of the songs on this record are from around that period. And then there are several newer ones and ones that maybe I tried to work into the Flashy Python record or I...

Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily

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