The Cross-Cultural “Worldgrass” of Tanasi

For “worldgrass” trio Tanasi, music is about ideas that are understood personally but felt globally. The people, ideas, and music of different places and cultures provide inspiration and prove yet again that music is a universal language.

“One of the things the three of us realized early on – beyond our shared love of tight Appalachian harmonies and beautiful melodies – is how deeply we all value travel and the chance to meet people from around the world who share that same love of music,” explained Mary Lucey, who brings upright bass, clawhammer banjo, and vocals to this trio. “We’ve felt the power of music to connect in so many places.”

She said it doesn’t matter whether that connection happens “during late-night jams on a porch back home” or in a small village in Nepal, “with people we’ve just met and can’t even speak to in words, yet we can play together for hours.”

“We’re mindful of the privilege it is to travel and immerse ourselves in different cultures,” she continued, “and we don’t take that lightly. Instead, we’re leaning into these influences for inspiration while celebrating the simple truth that we have far more in common with one another than we do differences.” She said in her other career as a nurse, she’s reminded daily of the common threads that are understood and experienced by much of humanity.

“I’m grateful to have the chance to share that perspective from the stage as well,” she added.

Lucey performs with bandmates Billy Cardine (dobro and slide instruments) and Anya Hinkle (vocals and guitar). Based in Asheville, North Carolina, they came together as a trio in 2018.

“At first, it was just Mary and I,” Hinkle reminisced. “We just enjoyed spending time out on the front porch picking tunes and learning each other's songs, singing harmonies, and getting to know each other. We started an old-time duo. Mary on banjo and bass, and I played guitar and fiddle.” Soon, Cardine became the third member of the trio.

“During the pandemic, the three of us actually played more than ever around the region,” Hinkle said. “Doing all those gigs together showed us that we were a good team, both musically and professionally. When things work, they just work. When we began working on the music for Tanasi, we felt that the songs should capture where we are at this moment in our careers and in our lives. A big part of our development musically and personally came from our experiences traveling and playing music in other countries. So we felt the songs should reflect that while also opening the door to more cross-cultural collaboration.”

The group just released its debut album in May, the eponymously-titled Tanasi. It was recorded at Indidog Studios, Lucey and Cardine’s home studio that’s “tucked into the side of a mountain in Pisgah National Forest just outside of Asheville.” That setting seems to have added to the feel of the record; Lucey described it as “quiet, surrounded by trees, and just far enough removed from everything to let you really listen. I think that sense of space found its way into the record.”

Musical contributions also came from musicians Cody Wright (electric bass) and Julian Pinelli (fiddle).

“There are nine songs on the album,” Lucey said. There are original tracks, with some “shaped by music we’ve learned from different parts of the world,” plus a couple of covers “that have stayed with us over the years.”

There’s a song based around a melody written by a South African slide guitarist who taught it to Cardine and Lucey while on his first trip to the U.S.; an instrumental written by Cardine in 5/4 time, inspired by his extensive study of  Indian classical music while under the tutelage of Hindustani slide-guitar master, Debashish Bhattacharya; a song penned by Steve McMurry, a founding member of Acoustic Syndicate, which echoes the legacy of family farming in the hills of western North Carolina; and, even a tune “inspired by the rhythms and melodies of a traditional West African Yoruba chant.” There’s music inspired by Nepal, and an instrumental written by Cardine “while sitting in an aspen grove on a mountain overlooking Flagstaff, Arizona.” Sometimes the listener will even hear the Indian Chaturangui, an instrument you’ll be hard-pressed to find on most other “grass” records, even if inspired by roots music from afar.

The scope of influences is far-reaching, spanning continents and bringing to bear years of study and performance for members of the trio. For Tanasi, this record is not just a record; it’s an expansive description of the things they learn from, and the things they are passionate about.

“We are grateful for the opportunities we have with this record to share our music with the world, and are excited to see what the future brings,” Hinkle said.

https://billycardine.com/tanasi