Flatboat River Witch: 1994 - 2015

This Mississippi woodworker and musician has been creating a mad and gorgeous dream world for thirty years and we only just found out, via the mighty Ulyssa record label. He has a bunch of stuff you’d know — Wurlitzer, Rhodes, synth, bass — and the rest is a series of metal and wood contraptions he’s built himself, along with some kind of variation on a hammer dulcimer and an accordion. When he sings, it’s like a blend of Ben Sidran and Bob Dylan, wry and maybe goofy stories that maybe float to him along the river. (“It looks like people, but it’s dogs — that’s all.”) You can hear the Southern wilds here, too, a literally ambient layer of biogenesis snaking its way through the whole event. There’s even a hint of Jon Hassell and his verdant thought bubble, maybe even a swampland Roxy Music? Truly underrated and not to be missed.