Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - Beautalina (2024) [Hi-Res]

Beginning as an informal gathering of friends and now blossoming into a fully-fledged collaborative band, Eureka Shoes’ Beautalina soars aloft on gorgeous 3-part harmonies, delicate acoustic textures, and world-class songcraft. Eureka Shoes features award-winning songwriter Jean Rohe, acoustic music stalwart Skye Soto Steele, and omni-genre multi-instrumentalist Charlie Burnham. Rounded out here by the virtuosic bass of Rashaan Carter, Beautalina is an enduring testament to the power of music to unite, communicate, and elevate.

Friends and occasional collaborators for years, Charlie, Jean, and Skye came together to form the band in the summer of 2021 when Charlie was awarded a recording fellowship at Looking Glass Arts, an upstate artist residency and recording facility founded by musician and entrepreneur Marika Hughes. Charlie invited Skye and Jean to join him, and they spent the three months leading up to the residency developing and rehearsing songs that each brought to the group. Ideas bounced off of ideas and sound came slowly into focus, with their three unique voices blending into a tapestry of harmony and musical storytelling. New songs sparked into being, and what began as a workshop among friends became a true band making an album-length statement.

“I’ve admired Charlie and Skye for so long,” Rohe says, “and then not just to come together as friends but to create something like this with them is a dream come true.”

“Another ingredient was the fact that this occurred just past the height of the pandemic,” Rohe adds. “We were off the road, and all of our routines were off the table. The invitation from Looking Glass was such a fortuitous opportunity to spend some time together making music. We were all so starved for that kind of connection in those days.”

At Looking Glass a kind of magic happened which is evident on every track of the album. Steele says, “We never intended for it to become a proper band – it just happened that way. Rashaan is the in-house engineer at Looking Glass so naturally we invited him to play bass on the tracks. His sound and spirit completed the ensemble in a way we never could have predicted.” Burnham quips: “Rashaan is really the laces on the shoe.”

The Burnham-penned first track, ‘Don’t Ask,’ sets the table. The three voices of Rohe, Steele, and Burnham blend seamlessly above the acoustic texture of guitar, twin fiddles, and Hughes' cello – an impromptu orchestra sprung from serendipity.

The second track, Rohe’s ‘I Wanna Be,’ is a distillation of the ensemble’s extraordinary songcraft. A sprightly melody unfolds into a contrapuntal chorus, weaving and undulating above the sparkling string band interplay. Full of surprising harmonies, motion, and emotion, this and the succeeding tracks find the heart and soul.

Fans of Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, and CSNY will delight – Eureka Shoes is a band of friends, for friends; a meeting point of the intimacy of acoustic music and the virtuosity and spontaneity of jazz; a thing that happens when musicians are in a room together, sharing with each other, and with the world.

Tracklist:
1-1. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Marika Hughes, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - Dont Ask (03:36)
1-2. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - I Wanna Be (04:14)
1-3. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - How Long (03:00)
1-4. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - Keep Walking Walkers (04:39)
1-5. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - Go Easy (03:19)
1-6. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - Everyone Is Dying (04:09)
1-7. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - Beulah Land (03:29)
1-8. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - Liberty Bar (03:38)
1-9. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - Moonlight (03:52)
1-10. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele - Say Goodbye (04:30)
1-11. Eureka Shoes, Charlie Burnham, Rashaan Carter, Marika Hughes, Kyle Sanna, Jean Rohe, Skye Soto Steele, Willa Folmar - Barn Hymn (02:09)