The 78 Project | Richard Thompson

Too often modern music fans don’t take time to respect their elders. Well, The 78 Project is the antithesis to that. The project was inspired by folk-music field collector Alan Lomax, but is actually run by three talents: Alex Steyermark, Lavinia Jones Wright, and Erik Nelson. It’s about documenting and recording music from the early 20th century. The 78 Project pairs great musicians with great songs, while using technology from the past to record it. It’s all pretty simple: One microphone, one authentic 1930′s PRESTO direct-to-disc recorder, and one blank lacquer disk. The site says that musicians are given the opportunity to make a recording anywhere they choose. Frankly, I’ve been following this site for a little while now, but thought I’d share, especially since their latest recording features guitar legend, Richard Thompson (for Episode No. 7) playing the traditional English folk song, “The Coo Coo Bird”, in his own unique hybrid style of simultaneous picking and strumming. It’s a marvel. Watch the video in HD quality below, shot this year at The Roger Smith Hotel in NYC. Everything about it is pure class. – David D. Robbins Jr.

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