Americana Highways brings you this premiere of Adam Klein’s “Holding Pattern” from his recent 2019 release Low Flyin’ Planes recorded, mixed and mastered by Bronson Tew at Dial Back Sound. “Holding Pattern” features Adam Klein on acoustic guitar and vocals, Crash Cason on electric and Bronson Tew on acoustic guitars, Stuart Cole on upright bass, Kell Kellum on pedal steel, Will McCarley on drums.
The video was filmed and edited by Jeff Shipman with the drone piloted by Greg Brown. Views by air of the alluring Mississippi Delta, juxtaposed with footage further north of Klein and crew recording at Matt Patton and Bronson Tew’s Dial Back Sound, provides a sense of the varied richness of the region. The drone that captures part of the footage is a “Low Flyin’ Plane.”
With its thoughtful rhythmic timing and even more wistful musical dynamic, Adam Klein’s “Holding Pattern” will stir up nostalgic reminiscences of the Mississippi region. All the elements here — Kell Kellum on pedal steel in his “Hall & Oates” throwback shirt, Klein with his acoustic and Stuart Cole in the sound booth adding elements of blunt realism — combine with the clear harmonies to tap into that feeling we all have: “can’t get out of this holding pattern.”
We recorded this album at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, MS. It’s not in the Delta, per se- it’s in the North Mississippi hill country- but it’s close enough that one can’t help but feel drawn in by the mystique of the Delta and its musical history, lore, and mythology. Although this is by no means a blues record, location can imbue meaning, and I think filmmaker Jeff Shipman and I both felt the nearby presence of the mysterious Delta served as a source of inspiration for us during the sessions.
We went back to Water Valley and on to the Delta together last summer, along with drone pilot Greg Brown, and in the oppressive heat of a day covered a lot of ground, filming in Water Valley, at Dockery Farms in Cleveland, at the nearby Crossroads, and elsewhere in the Delta. Jeff wove the aerial footage in with the footage of the recording session. It’s a delicate, soft, yearning song full of pathos, supported by producer and engineer Bronson Tew’s touch and the musicians’ tasteful playing, and I think the cinematography and shots of the region complement that feeling nicely. — Adam Klein
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