When Langhorne Slim discovered American roots music in high school, he knew he could strike out on his own as a guitarist. And since then the 26 year old has made a name for himself by channeling old-time blues, country and folk through a modern sensibility—replete with foot stomping, hand clapping and howling deep from the belly.
“When I started listening to some of that older music, it was kind of a validation for me,” Langhorne says. “It was like, well, if you can’t find a band right now, that’s OK because you can have a big noise without having a big band. And you don’t even need to have amplifiers.”
He hails from Langhorne, Pa. (and pays homage to his hometown through his moniker), lives in Brooklyn and, at times, sounds like he’s straight out of the backwoods. He earned a degree in music from SUNY Purchase, and says his music only became less studied and more raw during his education due to the fact that he focused primarily on traditional musical forms.
On his first EP, “Electric Love Letter” (2004), he came on strong with spooky wailing and fierce guitar playing, effortlessly incorporating a smattering of styles from gospel to zydeco. From there, he quickly moved from a solo act to frontman with a band, the War Eagles, and released When the Sun’s Gone Down in 2005.
“Right before we put out the first record, I had been playing by myself, and I wanted to put together some people to play on the album with me, not thinking that … I was going to become best friends with [them],” he explains.
Through a mutual friend he met drummer Malachi DeLorenzo and upright bassist Paul DeFiglia. “It felt really good right off the bat,” Langhorne says. “And very luckily for me, they are very devoted young men. They were willing to go and do these [shows] with me for very little money or for free even.”
Langhorne Slim and the War Eagles signed to V2 Records last year, and released the “Engine” EP shortly therafter. They were set to put out a full-length album this spring. They recorded the album (the working title is Spinning Compass) last summer with Sam Kassirer in Chicago and at Kassirer’s studio in Maine.
But in January, V2 restructured and turned its focus almost exclusively to catalog releases. So the full-length album on V2 was scrapped, and now Langhorne and crew are searching for a new home for it.
“The record is for the most part done and waiting to blow minds across the world,” Langhorne says with a laugh.
March 23, Southpaw, 125 5th Ave. (betw. Sterling & St. John’s Pls.), B’klyn, 718-230-0236; 8, $10.
“When I started listening to some of that older music, it was kind of a validation for me,” Langhorne says. “It was like, well, if you can’t find a band right now, that’s OK because you can have a big noise without having a big band. And you don’t even need to have amplifiers.”
He hails from Langhorne, Pa. (and pays homage to his hometown through his moniker), lives in Brooklyn and, at times, sounds like he’s straight out of the backwoods. He earned a degree in music from SUNY Purchase, and says his music only became less studied and more raw during his education due to the fact that he focused primarily on traditional musical forms.
On his first EP, “Electric Love Letter” (2004), he came on strong with spooky wailing and fierce guitar playing, effortlessly incorporating a smattering of styles from gospel to zydeco. From there, he quickly moved from a solo act to frontman with a band, the War Eagles, and released When the Sun’s Gone Down in 2005.
“Right before we put out the first record, I had been playing by myself, and I wanted to put together some people to play on the album with me, not thinking that … I was going to become best friends with [them],” he explains.
Through a mutual friend he met drummer Malachi DeLorenzo and upright bassist Paul DeFiglia. “It felt really good right off the bat,” Langhorne says. “And very luckily for me, they are very devoted young men. They were willing to go and do these [shows] with me for very little money or for free even.”
Langhorne Slim and the War Eagles signed to V2 Records last year, and released the “Engine” EP shortly therafter. They were set to put out a full-length album this spring. They recorded the album (the working title is Spinning Compass) last summer with Sam Kassirer in Chicago and at Kassirer’s studio in Maine.
But in January, V2 restructured and turned its focus almost exclusively to catalog releases. So the full-length album on V2 was scrapped, and now Langhorne and crew are searching for a new home for it.
“The record is for the most part done and waiting to blow minds across the world,” Langhorne says with a laugh.
March 23, Southpaw, 125 5th Ave. (betw. Sterling & St. John’s Pls.), B’klyn, 718-230-0236; 8, $10.
