{"id":32474,"date":"2018-01-18T15:28:48","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T15:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=32474"},"modified":"2018-01-18T15:28:48","modified_gmt":"2018-01-18T15:28:48","slug":"guest-writers-orfila-get-to-the-bottom-of-what-exactly-is-country-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/01\/guest-writers-orfila-get-to-the-bottom-of-what-exactly-is-country-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Writers Orfila Get To The Bottom Of What Exactly Is Country Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The UK\u2019s love affair with country music at this moment in time is apparent and, as a country artist myself, it is a very exciting time for both fans and musicians.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Country 2 Country festival (founded in 2013) has enabled country fans in the UK to see the very best figures from the world of country music including Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Marty Stuart and Little Big Town. UK country duo The Shires became the first UK country band to break into the top ten UK album chart with their debut album ‘Brave’, and their follow up album ‘My Universe’ got to number three in the UK album chart. In September 2016 sibling duo Ward Thomas managed to surpass the success of The Shires by reaching number one in the UK album charts making them the first ever UK country artists to claim the top spot. This appreciation for country music in the UK has put country music under the microscope and a pertinent question seems to have arisen\u2026is what is being labelled as \u201ccountry music\u201d these days ACTUALLY country music?<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a very loaded question and one that doesn\u2019t really have a definitive answer. I\u2019ve heard before that \u201canything can be country if you think it is\u201d, suggesting that the answer to this question is subjective. Personally, I think you just KNOW when you hear a country song. It\u2019s got certain conventions (like all music genres) that identifies itself\u2026as simplistic as it sounds, you can generally tell whether a song is country or not upon hearing it. The instruments, the structures, vocals (including harmonies), tones, themes and lyrics all have their parts to in identifying country music, as all genres do. Having said that, like all forms of art, genres of music evolve over time and are open to creative inputs; I think this is necessary to keep the product fresh otherwise you\u2019d end up with all songs from a particular genre starting to sound the same. Country music is no exception to this and has clearly grown and developed over time.<\/p>\n

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Take two legends from the country music world: Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. Hank is often considered the King of country music and rightly so. His songs are more than classic country songs; they\u2019re songs that define country music. One of the first songs I ever learned on the guitar was actually ‘Your Cheatin\u2019 Heart’ and his distinctive songwriting set the standard for country music for a long time (in fact it still kinda does today).\u00a0\u00a0Johnny Cash is one of the most recognised musicians in music history (let alone country music history) and although his songs are quite clearly country songs, there is a notable difference between the two artists.<\/p>\n

It would require a lot of time to do a fully comprehensive comparison between the two so I\u2019m going to pick one song from each which is regarded as a classic: ‘I\u2019m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ and ‘Ring of Fire’. These songs are regarded as classic country songs but are so different, in sound, tone and production. \u201cLonesome\u201d is a melancholy, heartbreaking track that is quite simple in its structure and musicality however it\u2019s the lyrics, delivered with Hank\u2019s strong southern accent, that really make the song. The song includes guitar, bass, fiddle and pedal steel and has undoubtedly a classic country sound.\u00a0 Released 14 years later, ‘Ring of Fire’ is a stark contrast, beginning with the classic brass which the song has become synonymous with, an upbeat tone, a country guitar rhythm and delivered in a more rockabilly style. Johnny doesn\u2019t foreground a southern accent instead opting for his classic, unmistakable baritone. Both songs are considered classic country songs but are evidently very different. Clearly, there is room for interpretation in country music and while I believe that there are conventions that music has to have to be considered \u201ccountry\u201d, the contrast between these classic country songs demonstrates that the genre is not completely restrictive in what can be considered \u201ccountry\u201d.<\/p>\n

As an artist this can be liberating because you have more artistic freedom. In my band we want to retain the classic country sound but also add individuality and uniqueness.<\/p>\n