James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg turn The Smiths into folk in their new album 'Ambsace.'

Elkington & Salsburg: A Pair of Ones, with Guitar

Soundcheck | Nov 25, 2015

Nathan Salsburg is a Louisville-based guitarist who moonlights as the curator of the famed Alan Lomax Archive of American folk music. Or maybe it’s vice versa. He joined us as a solo performer back in 2012, but now he’s back in a duo setting with the English guitarist James Elkington, now based in Chicago and known for his work with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Richard Thompson, and Steve Gunn, among others. Elkington and Salsburg have just released an album of guitar duets called Ambsace, a Middle English word that today we would translate as “snake eyes” – the lowest roll of the dice. The album is both virtuosic and accessible – you don’t need to be a guitarist to like it. Today, the two of them join us to play live and to perhaps explain their choice of album title. 

Click here to listen to Bert Jansch's live Soundcheck set from 2010, as referenced in the interview.

 

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