BJ Cole with Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys
Half Moon, Putney, 93 Lower Richmond Road, Putney, London, SW15 1EU
A great chance to see BJ Cole with Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys.
£20
BJ COLE: PEDAL STEEL
‘BENDING NOTES LIKE TOFFEE’
In a career stretching back to the mid-Sixties, BJ’s recording credits read like a 'who’s who' of music. He has carved an outstanding reputation as the supreme innovator on the pedal steel; adapting it across numerous genres of music.
His uniquely eclectic style of playing first made an impact on the British music scene in the early 1970's. His iconic performance on Elton John's classic 'Tiny Dancer' put him in place as the go-to pedal steel player for numerous major artists and bands who desired his unique sound on their tracks. READ MORE
"Best Pedal Steel player in the World I'd say .." Sting
BJ Cole and Secondson
There is Wonder Here
BJ Cole and Secondson have announced There is Wonder Here, a collaborative album pairing pedal steel guitar with the Cristal Baschet — a rare acoustic instrument invented in 1952 by French brothers Bernard and François Baschet, played by rubbing chromatically tuned glass rods with wet fingertips. The album is believed to be the first recording devoted to the interplay between the two instruments.
The first track, A Place You Could Never Leave, is out now. It introduces the central dynamic of the album: Cole’s fluid, expressive pedal steel set against the Cristal Baschet’s haunting, otherworldly resonance. Secondson has described the instrument as “an acoustic synthesizer,” capable of moving from delicate, voice-like tones to powerful self-oscillating resonance.
Cole has been one of the UK’s most influential and adventurous pedal steel players for more than five decades with Secondson being one of a small number of musicians working extensively with the Cristal Baschet.
The album began as a long-distance exchange, with Secondson composing and recording pieces specifically for the project before sending them to Cole, who layered pedal steel performances over the material. The two eventually came together in the studio, where improvised performances became part of the album’s final form. The contrasting nature of the instruments shaped the recording process: Cole’s pedal steel was captured in a dense, reflection-free room, while the Cristal Baschet was recorded in bright, reflective spaces that emphasised its natural resonance.
“There were no limits on what we felt the pedal steel could do,” says Secondson. “BJ has always been very open-minded toward experimentation in his playing. At the same time, he preferred a pure pedal steel sound with very little between the instrument and the listener.”
The album was recorded with engineer Thomas V. Westgard. Mixing and mastering were handled by Chuck Johnson.
There is Wonder Here is out September 18th on CD and vinyl via Centripetal Force, with a cassette edition from Geology Records. (Text from Centripetal Force Website)
For further details on how to buy the album - CD, Vinyl & Cassette available, please follow the link below.
“As Leon got in touch with me out of the blue, I am very pleased at how well the album came out, considering most of my playing was done remotely. Leon had done a good job of preparing the tracks, so all I had to do was add my Pedal Steel. I especially have to compliment Leon for all the great titles he came up with. He set the mood of the album wonderfully with the title ’There Is Wonder Here’. It is very appropriate. I already had experience of playing with the great master of the Cristal Baschet Michel Deneuve at the Rochefort Festival in France some years ago. There really wasn’t much similarity between the two players style, but each proved to be equally unique and otherworldly in their own way. ” - BJ Cole
