Folk noir band Son Of The Velvet Rat, alter ego of singer-songwriter Georg Altziebler and wife Heike Binder (organist and accordionist), will release Ghost Ranch on March 22 via Fluff & Gravy Records.
A decade ago Altziebler and Binder left their hometown of Graz, Austria and put down roots in Joshua Tree, California. On September 9th, 2022 at the Harrison House in Joshua Tree, Georg and Heike debuted a collection of songs that would comprise Ghost Ranch.
A press release continues, “That night would have to be preserved in the amber of memory until Georg and Heike would properly document the pieces at Gar Robertson’s Red Barn Studio in Morongo Valley the following spring, before finishing the album in Austria.”
The album title can suggest a destination with no physical address but rather a resting place for the mind, body, and soul. A showcase for this concept is found in “Deeper Shade of Blue,” the video premiering exclusively on American Blues Scene.
Watching the waves roll in from the ocean
Watching the sun going down over the beach
I can have it all – I can see it coming
All I have to do is reach
Georg Altziebler, whose lyrics are accentuated by a soft and gravelly voice, wanders the high seas of his memories. Punctuated by archetypal Jolie Holland moments, her stirring vocals and birdlike whistling melt the soul and enkindle the divine fire of letting go (and liking it). The song is anchored by the canorous sounds of Gar Robertson’s electric guitar, Tony Patler’s B-3 organ, Heike Binder’s vocals, Jennifer Condos’ bass, and drums by the highly sought-after Jay Bellerose.
Of the song, Altziebler tells ABS:
This song was written on tour in a little beach-motel on the central coast of California. Tourists watching the seals while the sun in the west is slowly sinking into the ocean. You’re far away from home but, in a strange way, you have arrived. Maybe it’s just because you can’t go any further, and even if you could it wouldn’t make a difference. Peace is letting go.
