Blueprintmusic’s textured soul

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Blueprintmusic’s textured soul
by Steve Hammer Feb 4, 2004

Acoustic group releases second CD

The Indianapolis acoustic duo Blueprintmusic takes their listeners on a gentle journey to a world filled with textures and shadows, where understatement and thoughtful reflection are the coins of the realm. Ghosts and Eskimos, their second CD, adds to the mix a soft dichotomy: Roughly half of the album is comprised of soulful soundscapes and the rest is an updated take on classic bluegrass and country sounds.

Blueprintmusic is Doug Sauter (left) and Kate Lamont, also shown violinist Jason Mowery and cellist Grover Parido.

To guitarist/banjoist Doug Sauter, the group’s evolution has been a natural progression. “It’s about growing up,” he said. “Our first record was very rich with textures. But it was our first CD, so we were trying to put everything in one basket. This CD is where we’re at now. We scaled it back and this album kind of wrote itself.” Singer Kate Lamont agrees. “I’m always looking for a new texture or new soundscape,” she says. “But at the same time, if you’re feeling comfortable with what you’re writing and you’re feeling comfortable, it just comes out that way.” The disc starts out with “Please, Peace,” an evocative plea for harmony, both within and without. “The lyrics are a cry for peace internally, yet they’re also talking about personal feelings about love and then relating that to the need for peace now in the world,” Lamont says. “The connection between the two seemed like a good way to open the album.” Yet the album also has room for a playful song such as “Nashville,” which portrays Music City as a magical wonderland full of adventure. “It’s the perfect picture of a trip we took to Nashville,” Lamont says. “We were playing the New Music Conference two years ago. We left on a Thursday morning and it was raining. It rained the entire way there. It rained the entire time we were there. And when we left, the sun started peeking out around the clouds. Everything in the song came from what happened on the trip.” While Sauter has a background in country music, Lamont doesn’t, which makes her authentic country vocals all the more surprising. “I had no influence of any kind in that direction until Doug started getting me listening to country music,” she says. “But I’ve always loved Celtic music and I just saw a direct relationship between Celtic music and bluegrass. Vocally, I like a challenge and I thought it would be a fun adventure to sing over a banjo, because I’ve never done that before.” Lamont and Sauter met eight years ago and immediately began writing and performing together. “From day one, it’s been as simple as it could be,” Sauter says. “I’d be messing around with a guitar or banjo and come up with an idea and she’d just instantly put words to anything I’d do. The first day she came over, it was magic instantly. We wrote a song that day and it’s been that way ever since.” They haven’t tampered with that formula, Lamont says. “The actual way we write hasn’t changed, it’s just that the songs have gotten better. We bounce ideas off each other as far as arrangement and it kind of fuses together.” Just as in her other group, the jazzy trip-hoppers Mab Lab, Lamont writes lyrics that are nuanced and slightly abstract as opposed to being confessional. “I feel more like a watcher as a writer,” she says, “like I’m a bird flying overhead and surveying what’s happening, even to me. I’ve always felt that way and it comes out in the way I write. I’m removing myself from the situations.” While she admires artists who speak in blunt terms about their own lives, she says that’s just not her. “You’re already giving so much of yourself just to perform or put your music on disc for anyone to listen to it,” she says. “To me, that’s already like stripping down naked. It’s already so personal. Tori Amos is a good example. I enjoy a lot of Tori Amos’ music but I’m not like that. It’s just not my message.” The songs are complex musically as well (Sauter has a master’s degree in music composition) but are extremely organic. There’s scarcely an electric instrument on the entire album and exactly zero drums. To celebrate the release of the album, the group will perform a show at 5 p.m. Friday at the Jazz Kitchen. As on the disc, the two will be joined by mandolin player Matt Koher, fiddle player Jason Mowery and double bass player Fred Withrow. Celloist Grover Parido will also perform. A discount coupon can be picked up at Yats restaurants and the CD can be ordered through blueprintmusic.com and at locally owned and operated music stores.

What: Blueprintmusic CD release show When: Friday, Feb. 6, 5-7 p.m. Where: The Jazz Kitchen, 5377 N. College Ave., 253-4900

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