Wind Horses by Tammerlin-Lee Hunter & Arvid Smith

The Daytona Beach News Journal said of their last CD, Wind Horses, "Tammerlin have taken folk's roots and majestically nurtured them into the 21st century" and Dirty Linen Magazine has described the duo as "captivating" and "one of the best kept secrets in America". Whether you hear them as a duo or collaborating with talented friends, the sound is rich, full, fascinating, fun, and just a step off of the well-beaten path.

Tammerlin-Lee Hunter & Arvid Smith

Just when the music appears to be repeating itself or becoming a little stale, artists like Arvid Smith and Lee Hunter work their magic. Performing as Tammerlin, these musicians have made unique inroads into the width and breadth of contemporary and traditional music, sharing the discoveries they've made along the way.

Lee and Arvid continue on their path with the release of their fourth CD, "One Kind Favor". Hunter's voice, guitar and writing /arranging provide both the vehicle and the inspiration for the sound. Smith masterfully handles the instrumental work -finger-style and slide-on acoustic and electric six and twelve string and dobro. The arrangements include a group of enormously talented musicians eager to make their own contributions, and they certainly have. Hunter's songs span the spectrum yet with each, it's hard to resist singing along. For starters, there's the neo-country blues "Another Road" with its compelling anti-war message, the exuberant and sensual "Late April Rain", and the great loss described in the consoling, hymn-like "There Is No Comfort Now You're Gone". There are a number of traditional tunes including an energetic and electric reading of the English tune "Boys of Bedlam" and a recently unearthed ballad from eastern Kentucky. There are also some well-chosen covers-a hauntingly gorgeous song by Malcolm Holcombe and Bob Dylan's less-covered "Blind Willie McTell".

The collaboration began in Jacksonville, Florida in 1989 when Smith and Hunter were drawn together by a shared love for folk and world music. With that, they stepped into that stream of expression that goes back to the first campfire. The result is a style that transcends the music's origins while honoring its roots. "It's all about evolution," Hunter says. "Music has never stayed in one place and it's not going to. Lots of people are doing what we're doing, but in different ways. We're taking traditional music and writing inspired by the tradition as well, to a new place, with our own voices and vocabulary and experience, but always with respect for where it came from." In Tammerlin's music, you hear that process.

Hunter is a percussionist-both by training and by inclination, strongly influencing their arrangements. And, as Tammerlin takes on more and more original material, she is usually the one wielding the pen. She handles rhythm guitar duties and most of the vocals with a voice that one Florida music magazine called "haunting, passionate, and powerful". Whether the song recalls a tragedy, a lover's longing or a light-hearted take on everyday experience-it is the perfect instrument around which to build a sound.

"A wizard on the silver strings" is how Britain's New Musical Express described Smith's approach to the guitar. Smith is a man in love with strings with a collection of instruments to prove it. He's been categorized as a "fingerstylist", a description that is simultaneously apt and inadequate. He plays a mean slide and some pretty rockin' electric as well. Possessed of a high level of skill and a cleverness to match, he can "pick the splinters out of" a guitar or coax and cajole the gentlest of sounds.

Tammerlin's debut CD, the self-released "Roll Down Thy Window," drew critical acclaim from Folk Roots, a prominent European folk and world music magazine, and Dirty Linen, an equally prominent American-based folk and world music publication. The album was featured on the BBC World Service, and one track was chosen by Folk Roots for inclusion on its "Froots #6" compilation CD. The duo continued their trademark now-mystical, now-rootsy sound with their second CD, "Third Weeks A'Lightnin'," released in December 1996 .

Tammerlin's third recording, "Wind Horses", featured a number of Hunter's stylistically- varied original songs. They took on traditional material in several Civil War-era ballads and two medieval French folk songs. There's even a mystical soundscape inspired by the seals off the coast of Scotland. The sound prompted Dirty Linen Magazine to call Tammerlin "one of the best kept secrets in America".

Throughout, Lee and Arvid continued to tour and found their music in demand at such venues as the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, South Carolina, and Suwannee Springfest in Live Oak, Florida. They have shared the stage with such artists as The Band, Emmylou Harris, Alex De Grassi and Doc Watson.

The music of Tammerlin takes the listener on a journey-a journey through time, although it's anything but linear-constantly moving forward, always reaching back. Whether you hear them as a duo or collaborating with talented friends, the sound is rich, full, fascinating and just a step off of the well-beaten path.

In praise of "One Kind Favor" (BirdsTale Records, 2005)

"Tammerlin has done folk and roots music one kind favor with their new work. "

Daytona Beach News Journal

"Lee Hunter has become a very strong writer, and her music fits seamlessly alongside the several traditional pieces....Great guests and excellent musicianship throughout.....Excellent record."

Global Village Idiot (on-line music zine) www.globalvillageidiot.net

In praise of Wind Horses (Binky Records, 2002) . . . . .

"One of the best kept secrets in America".

Dirty Linen Magazine

"Luminous"

The Tallahassee Democrat

"Tammerlin have taken folk's roots and majestically nurtured them into the 21st century."

The Daytona Beach News Journal

"Hunter and Smith are experts in their field, channeling folkloric song in new and challenging ways."

Folio Weekly, Jacksonville, FL

What the press says about Tammerlin . . . . . . (for Roll Down Thy Window (Binky Records, 1995) and Third Weeks A'Lightnin' (Binky Records, 1996))

"A beautiful sound. Lyrics to roll over your tongue. Eclectic but not quirky. Well done."

Sing Out Magazine

"Hunter's ethereal,, but sharp vocals are one of the group's major strengths. The group's other strength is Smith's eclectic guitar work......... it's both enjoyable and challenging all the same."

Dirty Linen Magazine

"It's the freshest sound to come out of Florida."

Porthole Magazine

"It's the acoustic sound that, for me, really takes off. Guitar, banjo, and bodhran generate an intense pulse......Electric folk of a sort which doesn't harken back to the golden age, but instead has its eyes firmly fixed on the present-and future."

Folk Roots Magazine

"......The most intriguing mix of electric and acoustic instruments pure folk may have ever experienced...It's a clever updating that still shows complete respect for the purity of the original music, and it's that unwavering respect for their genre that makes Tammerlin's work so captivating."

Out N'About Magazine Asheville, NC

"......An eclectic outlook with some dazzling musicianship and with some exceptional vocal warblings offered by vocalist Lee Hunter."

Creative Loafing Charlotte, NC

"Quite remarkable and extremely innovative."

John O'Regan

RTE Radio, Ireland

"You need this album. (Roll Down Thy Window) It will change your preconceptions, your ears, your mind."

The Rocket

Seattle, WA

"Smith and his technoarsenal produce textures more folkie, primeval, and beautifully archaic than any acoustic-guitar busker......Along with his imagination and impeccable taste, Smith is a flashy acoustic picker also."

Daytona Beach News Journal

"Hunter's vocals are a striking combination that is haunting, ethereal, and powerful.....Throughout, Hunter comes across as fiery and passionate, essential qualities to the success of the material."

JAM Magazine, Florida

".....The atmosphere during the Tammerlin concert was alternately electrically charged and hauntingly seductive."

Baton Rouge Acoustic and Folk Society

"Listening to this album is like watching time-lapse photography of a flower blooming, and seeing a rose burst into vibrant color. These songs hold the listener from beginning to end." (A review of Third Weeks A'Lightnin')

Florida Times-Union Jacksonville, FL

"Tammerlin dazzled the audience with their originality on a stage full of instruments....The duo expresses wonderful chemistry and stage presence and entertained the appreciative audience with their beautiful vocals and instrumental wizardry.

Spoleto Today, Post and Courier Charleston, SC

Tammerlin has appeared in concert with:

Doc Watson Pierce Pettis

Emmylou Harris Steve Forbert

The Band David Massengill

Rory Block The Kennedys

Alex De Grassi and more.....

Roger McGuinn

Dar Williams

Martin and Jessica Rubie Simpson

Average Customer Review: