Summoning the days of yore, Tanakh's Monkey Session was something which captured the true spirit of traveling musicians.  The recording session showcased the resilience of the human spirit and the power found in turning duress into beauty.  The Italian five-piece collective arrived to our studio road-weary and bleary-eyed at midnight, after a 14 hour drive from Bloomington, Indiana.  The final leg of the journey found Tanakh lost in the Blue Ridge Mountains, separated from their destination, Monkeyclaus, by only one large mountain.  Our scout, sent to collect Tanakh, found them hungry, frustrated, and tired.  Several pizzas and two bottles of wine later, a newly inspired mood was imparted and the band reborn.

Monkey Session #5

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  Monkey Session #5 - Tanakh Delivers The Goods From Italy (11.5 MiB, 438 hits)

The decision to record informally on the porch of our farmhouse proved to be a perfect match for the moment.  Tanakh set up across the porch in rocking chairs, porch swings and old wooden chairs and proceeded to manifest the gypsy-inspired sounds of genuine spontaneous Appalachain porch-folk.  Monkeyclaus is where worlds collide and influences meld into one coherent gumbo.  Tanakh played naturally and beautifully with a melange of familiar, borrowed, and improvised instruments.

Tanakh currently consists of Jesse Poe, Viola Mattioli, Oretta Giunti, Matteo Bennici, and Umberto Trivella.  Poe is the founding member and an ex-Virginian / ex-Patriot living as a musician in Florence, Italy.  The group was co-founded with Them Against Them's Phil Murphy in Richmond, Virginia many years ago.  Over time Jesse has remained the sole constant, while working with dozens of talented individuals.  *(see Jesse's myspace page to soak in the full roster)* This Monkey Session is the sound of Tanakh on tour in May 2006 in the days following their gorgeous performance at the Terrastock 6 Psychedelic Music Festival in Providence, Rhode Island.  Please also check out our previous post of an e-mail interview with Tanakh which we think you may find very intriguing.  Enjoy!

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