EP

‘Live in Room 13’

OUT NOW

 
 
 

Live in Room 13

Old Salt has survived the Musical Apocalypse and is proud to announce the release of a five song live EP recorded in Room 13 in Ghent, Belgium. This EP features timeless old songs whipped up in a new energetic light. Old Salt feels it represents much of what so many of us have been dealing with through this last year. Experiences like monotony, loneliness, hope and loss all the while confronting these themes as Old Salt does with a smile and a growl.

  1. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out (Jimmy Cox)

  2. Pastures of Plenty / Charlie’s Dog (Woody Guthrie / Old Salt)

  3. Always Lift Him Up and Never Knock Him Down (Alfred Reed)

  4. St. James Infirmary Blues (Traditional)

  5. Grey Funnel Line (Cyril Tawney)

 

Commons

We approach the folk music that we play not only as a monument to the past, but as a living and breathing reflection of modern times steeped in its historical and cultural context, informing both this present and the uncertain future. We try to balance serving the folk traditions we draw from while expressing our understanding of the societal and environmental challenges we must face together.

By naming this album “Commons” we attempt to boil down that which is most important to us as friends, and as a band from different cultures; these “commons” being the natural and cultural resources that all members of a society can draw from, fostered and served in common, for and by all people.

Inspired by these cultural commons, we play both traditional music and write originals with themes that address the issues that are important to us today. Some songs are about personal and projected stories, telling the experience of moving into the unknown (Shades), that of confusion and commitment in love (Thin Ice); other songs are about the perpetual tragedy of people being forced to embark on perilous journeys leaving everything behind (Cherokee Trail), or about the disparity between “winners” and “losers” of our cruel economic systems which feed on the poor at the expense of empathy (Grow); songs that celebrate our conscious farmers (Farmer’s Anthem); and finally songs that simply pay our respect to the cultural commons of folk music.

2019 - Trad Records

 

Up River Overseas

‘Up River Overseas’ is our debut album.   Recorded in a live band room in Umeå, Sweden by Nils Johansson in August 2015, and released on CD and streaming platforms in April 2016.  We released the Album with the help of many a good people over a crowdfunding campaign and with the crew at "Appel Rekords."