Whether you’re familiar with Warren Haynes from The Allman Brothers Band, The Dead or Gov’t Mule, you’ll know he’s a world-class guitarist with endless inventiveness, flawless technique and limitless soul. But perhaps because his guitar playing is so damn good (and because he’s no slouch as a singer either, with a raspy, bluesy voice that expresses fragility and strength in equal measure), it sometimes feels like not enough attention is paid to Haynes’ songwriting.
On his new solo album Ashes & Dust, Haynes collaborates with the band Railroad Earth on Americana-influenced tunes that allow his soulful vocals and nuanced songwriting to share equal space with his guitar.
“Some of these songs are brand new but the oldest one is 30 years old,” Haynes says. “Some of them are in between but several are quite old. We recorded a lot of material – around 30 songs, all told. For this first release I just picked the ones that I felt seemed to work together the best.”
As someone who has recorded with so many musicians over the years, was the overall process any different with the added element of Railroad Earth?
“Well, for me, other than the instrumentation, it was very similar to the way I always enjoy recording. We tried to play together as we could at the same time. Even some of the vocals were recorded live.
“We would record as an entire band and if something was missing then we would add it. We set everything up so that we could all see each other when we were recording, and as far as rehearsing and arranging the material, I purposely did it in a way where there was no extended period of rehearsal time. We basically learned each song as we were recording in the studio.
“So I would show the band a song, we would talk about what kind of instrumentation would be nice, we’d take the arrangement I already had and we would change it if it felt like it wanted to go somewhere different. Obviously, everybody’s input was welcome. And when we felt like we had a good take, we would move on to the next song, which they had never heard, and we’d restart the process. Each song was recorded in a way where those guys were experiencing the songs for the first time.”
Now feels like the ideal moment for this album to be released – outside the pop sphere, music fans seem to be falling in love with the sound of instruments played without digital enhancement again. You can see it in the dirty rock of Rival Sons and Royal Blood, and most definitely in the Americana movement that is influencing all sorts of Australian bands.
“I think there’s a whole resurgence in people choosing to perform and record in an organic way,” Haynes says. “For me, it’s something I’ve always done and have never strayed away from. I’ve never felt comfortable recording one instrument at a time. Improvisation is such a big part of the overall spirit of what I do, that even in the more straightforward song structures, we’re still depending on the call and response.”
Australian fans mightn’t have to wait long for the North Carolina performer’s return to our shores. “We start touring in a couple of weeks and we’re trying to do worldwide,” Haynes says. “We’re hoping to get to Australia and we’re working on that now. We’re trying to do as much touring worldwide as possible.”
[Warren Haynes photo by Danny Clinch]
Ashes & Dust is out now through Provogue/Mascot.
