pianola karaoke
Aileen Campbell sings Mama's Opry by Iris Dement.
of reasons. One, because I came
here to record the pianola just to
get an idea of what that
particular sound quirk was in
relation to a piano - but being
this kind of constant rhythm.
So, I wanted to choose something
that had a kind of interesting
rhythm running through it. And
Iris Dement’s song does have
that - it starts with a kind of
banjo [...] And the other reason
I chose it was because I was
thinking about the Panopticon
itself as being a more intimate
kind of performance space. It’s
not a big concert hall, really.
And in my own work at the time
I was recording my Dad singing
in the house with a small
orchestra. And I was thinking
about how most singing and
most kind of safe rehearsal
space was actually quite private
and in a home and I wanted to
try and get a song that
reflected that a little bit. Mama’s
Opry talks about Iris Dement’s
mother growing up and
singing in the house. And there
was dancing and music and all
these things going on in the
house. And how she kind of,
when she was singing,
transported herself to the
Grand Old Opry.'
(Aileen Campbell, October 2007)