MP3 Todd Helvig - Distill

Call it alternative acoustic, folk rock, or new folk. Above all else it's the essence of music created simply by a man and his guitar.

15 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, FOLK: Power-folk



Details:
Fast becoming a movement, Distill is the next installation of the New Folk sound from Todd. Full of energy and life, yet pared down to itâs essence, Distill consists of live recordings of new (and a few refurbished) originals. Itâs an up-close and personal expose of songs written to be heard as you can now hear them: solo and straightforward.

When asked about the new album, Todd had this to say:
âAfter one of my sets promoting my last cd release (A Stones Throw) a guy came up and purchased a cd. He asked if the disc he was buying was just me playing my songs. I told him the songs had been built up with bass, drums, harmonies, etc. He looked slightly disappointed and said heâd really like a recording that was quite simply the way I played them on stage. I had considered that before, but always went back on it thinking that the songs wouldnât sound complete enough in todayâs market.

Then I realized this: My songs are honest and simple. They hold the silence as dearly as the chord. And Iâm not creating for a âmarket,â Iâm creating because thatâs what I do. What better way to represent that than to record them the way I play them live; No filler, no icing, just hit record and play. And thatâs what I did. I named the album Distill because it is, and was, the process that satisfied the urge. My goal was to strip away the excess and distill the creative process down to its core.â

The unpolished truth is Distill. Songs like Parallel Lines, I Believe in Love, and Everything I Need lay out Toddâs devotion to basic principles that life canât be fully lived without. Prison Song , Better Days, and Undone speak directly to the nature and substance of humanityâs weaker (often hidden) side. Petrified, Crystal Man, and In the Gloaming strive to make human the human. There is but one exception on the album. The song entitled Tap the Flow âwas an afterthought that was too good to be left out. It began as a little song/zygote that blew up in the basement late one night. I take no responsibility for said explosion.â

âItâs about catharsis, exploration, and embracing the truths we are faced with each and every day.â

Please take a second to sample the tunes, buy a cd, and visit Toddâs website. New and old fans welcome!

*All quotations are direct comments by Todd.