V.A. 78 Project Volume 2

The 78 Project is on a journey across America to make one-of-a-kind 78 RPM records with musicians in their hometowns using a 1930s Presto direct-to-disc recorder. With one microphone. With one blank disc. In one three-minute take. Inspired by folklorist Alan Lomax, The 78 Project celebrates the artistry and craft that captured America’s musical forms of a century ago, exploring the deep historical significance of American folk songs in the process. This album is the companion to the critically acclaimed documentary The 78 Project Movie, which was shot during a year spent driving across America, visiting artists to cut once-in-a-lifetime recordings. In Tennessee, Mississippi, California, Louisiana, these folk singers, punk rockers, gospel and Cajun singers from The 78 Project Movie share their lives through intimate performances, and find in that adventure a new connection to our cultural legacy. “The ineffable romance of old recordings makes for magic … ripe with wonder.” —The Austin Chronicle “I didn’t imagine anything like The 78 Project, in which we discover that not only are dead media platforms not dead at all, but that they can be gateways into their own peculiarly new universes of creativity.” —William Gibson for The Oxford American “… [R]ises above simple vintage worship and does more than just glorify the past—it helps us experience it.” —The Village Voice “The 78 Project grabs American music by the roots.” —USA Today