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Today we’re celebrating an artist of whom has just recently passed into these ears and has genuinely inspired myself personally, and I’m certain a lot of us all feel this same sentiment toward the brilliant JR Band and their very intriguing, intelligent and inventive instrumental piece “Predilection” (interestingly with the title based on a conversation about the writings of Carlos Castañeda (author of “The Teachings of Don Juan”))
When it comes the band itself-we have a brilliant combination of guitars, double bass, organ, mandolin, violin, and banjo bringing us a beautiful blend of Americana, folk music, bluegrass and country to enjoy. The songwriting throughout The JR Band’s entire catalog is outstanding, combining phenomenal storytelling into their music which-along with the blend of styles, instrumentation and lyrical themes in their music-gives us a sense of sitting around a campfire, sharing stories and music in comfort; as we hear astonishingly astute lyrics and well crafted melodies to suit the brilliant storytelling woven elegantly all throughout their catalogue.
All these elements help this stunning instrumental somehow covey the exact same sense of grounding which the Carlos Castañeda books on the teachings of Don Juan Matúš explains. With extraordinary insight the JR Band displays both their astonishing understanding of predilection and the vivid picture they create here-with music pushed to the forefront-well we can definitely appreciate The JR Band’s genius. Anyone who is passionate about music making can see in this song that our own predilection is in music. This is an inspiring and astounding piece of music that says it all…no words need be said.
As always with our indie music scene, there is often a surprise and a gem to be found. We can travel the world to try to find it and suddenly realise these gems have been there all along and all around us. The indie community may be vast-yet discoveries such as The JR Band reveal there’s a lot to be grateful for-listening to and discovering musical gems such as those found all around our entire indie community-brings us closer together.
