RED OAK DUO
Seven American Monuments
"It's a work of faith. Faith in this idea: that if all humans are given a chance to create something that they feel is meaningful, and if we all feel that we are living truthfully and fulfilling our role in the greater cause, then perhaps these unthinkable changes in human organization will no longer be unthinkable." —Adam Benjamin
Storm Nilson - Acoustic & Electric Guitar
Adam Benjamin - Piano & Fender Rhodes
Red Oak Duo is the sound of the modern American West: vast rural landscapes, one-stoplight towns, suburban sprawl crawling up foothills and valleys, freeways, strip malls, rugged coastlines, volcanic rock, alpine lakes, dry arroyos, and a diverse, multicultural population.
Adam Benjamin (piano and Rhodes) and Storm Nilson (acoustic and electric guitar) compose original music drawn from their experiences in these places. Americana collides with abstraction, technology, and pastoralia to paint a haunting portrait of early 21st century America. Their sound is Copland-esque, but fully contemporary.
"Seven American Monuments" (2017, Orenda Records) is their second full-length album (after their 2011 self-titled debut on f.Boo Music). It features seven new works composed by Benjamin and Nilson, each written for a particular place or experience in the American West. Acoustic, electric and electronic sounds combine to form a rich orchestral palette, and their improvisations draw from bluegrass, jazz and classical languages. Above all, this band of two sounds like nothing but themselves.
Recorded at Benaji Studios, Laguna Beach, CA, December 21-22, 2016
Produced by Adam Benjamin and Storm Nilson
Recording Engineer: Steve Wood
Mixing Engineer: Steve Wood
Mastering Engineer: Nate Wood
Design & Art: Eron Rauch
Tracks 1, 2, 4 Composed by Adam Benjamin (ASCAP)
Tracks 3, 5, 6, 7 Composed by Storm Nilson (ASCAP)
Tracks 1, 2, 4 Published by No Big Whoop Music (ASCAP)
Tracks 3, 5, 6, 7 Published by Fivefingers Music (ASCAP)
ORENDA RECORDS 0045