Dark Was The Night: Presented By The Red Hot Organization
‘Dark Was The Night’ is the product of a brainstorming session between Aaron Dessner of The National and Red Hot Organization founder, John Carlin. The project was in development three years ago as The National went out on tour and John Carlin suggested a new Red Hot record that could be recorded some day. As The National toured during 2005-2006, they found themselves in the middle of an exploding independent music scene across the world. Aaron and Bryce Dessner found themselves collecting songs that would showcase the best in independent music and that could be arranged in a contemporary way. John Carlin shared a rough collection of American Roots music for the brothers, and utilized “Dark was the Night” by Blind Willie Johnson as a thematic road map.
In the end after some arm-twisting, the Dessner brothers and John Carlin assembled enough great music to fill up two discs worth of material. The first disc would be folksy and more homespun while the other would reflect a more differentiated taste. John Carlin states, “This album continues the tradition of great Red Hot compilations, which bring together the best of a generation of musicians to promote AIDS awareness. In some ways it is a companion to ‘No Alternative’ which was released 15 years ago and featured Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Pavement, Uncle Tupelo, The Breeders, Patti Smith, Sonic Youth and many others.” The Red Hot Organization states that ‘Dark Was The Night’ is a unique showcase for artists who are dedicated to social activism as well as raising spirits through music.
Check out the first single to this release, “Knotty Pine” by The Dirty Projectors + David Byrne below.
http://www.darkwasthenight.com/
