Allison De Groot & Rich Ruth (LP Vinyl)

Allison de Groot is a clawhammer banjo player from Winnipeg, Canada whose work spans old-time, bluegrass, and folk traditions. A recipient of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and an Americana Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year nominee, she is perhaps best known for her duo with fiddler Tatiana Hargreaves, whose albums Hurricane Clarice and their self-titled debut earned recognition from the IBMA, the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and the JUNOs.Rich Ruth is a Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist (born Michael Ruth) who records for Third Man Records. His albums draw from ambient, spiritual jazz, minimalism, and synth-driven post-rock - compositions that begin with looping drones and synthesizers and expand outward through collaboration. His 2024 LP Water Still Flows is his most recent record.The two came together when Ruth was set to produce a solo record for de Groot. Over the course of about a year in Ruth's Nashville studio, the project quietly shifted - the two began composing together, and what emerged is shaped as much by space and process as by melody. de Groot's clawhammer banjo moves through looping and delay, set against Ruth's synthesizer arrangements in a way that balances the tactile immediacy of acoustic instruments with the enveloping qualities of electronics. Patrick M'Gonigle contributed violin and string arrangements throughout, and pedal steel from Spencer Cullum adds further color to the record's palette.Shortly after completing the album, the group debuted the material live at Big Ears Festival as one of the event's surprise performances - a stripped, minimalist set that reflected the spirit of the recordings. The album captures two distinct musical voices finding not so much a meeting point as a new, shared language.