Carmen Gomes Inc. - Up Jumped The Devil
Tax included
"... Her sultry voice has immediacy and intimacy, the instruments captured with real vitality, and the whole recording drips with presence and a sense of performance."
- Hifi News and Records
Carmen Gomes – vocal
Folker Tettero – guitar
Peter Bjørnild – double-bass
Bert Kamsteeg – drums
Total time: 45:19
| DXD 352kHz-24bit recording | DXD 352kHz-24bit Master |
The original high-resolution recording (352kHz-24bit) was analog mixed and mastered through an HQ analog stereo chain to a PCM 768kHz-32bit master. All other formats are high-quality conversions of this 352kHz-24bit master.
About the songs
1. Tunica, the town where Robert's wife and infant child died during childbirth
2. Hellhound On My Trail; “blues fallin' down like hail, and the days keeps on worryin' me, there's a hellhound on my trail.”
3. Rosedale, the town where RJ was en route to Tunica when she died.
4. Up Jumped the Devil; “the blues fell mama's child, tore me all upside down.”
5. Dark Corner Cemetery, where his wife and infant child got buried.
6. Come On In My Kitchen; “it's goin' to be rainin' outdoors.”
7. Penton, the town where they got married
8. When You Got A Good Friend; “that will stay right by your side, give her all of your spare time, love and treat her right.”
9. Robinsonville, the location of the juke Joint where Son House, who had a big influence on Robert, played.
10. Ease the Pain; “love is best left alone.”
11. Hazlehurst, where R.J. went to look for his father but instead found the mysterious virtuoso guitarist Robert Zimmerman, who taught R.J. to really play.
12. Love in Vain; “I felt so lonesome, and I could not help but cry.”
13. Clarksdale 61/49, the train leaves the station, and later at the crossroads Robert sells his soul to the Devil, to gain complete mastery.
14. Stop Breaking Down; “The stuff I got'll bust your brains out, it'll make you lose your mind.”
15. In Martinsville, Robert falls in love again, but his girlfriend, despite being pregnant, does not want to live with him; he goes back on the road. Never to settle anywhere again.
"A song is like a dream, and you try to make it come true. They're like strange countries you have to enter."
- Bob Dylan
Discovering the Music of Blues Legend Robert Johnson
By framing each of Robert Johnson’s songs with small instrumental miniatures, Carmen Gomes Inc. have created an album that sounds like an imaginary road movie. Listening one perceives Robert walking late at night, en route in the Mississippi Delta, reflecting back on his life.
The low A, 27.5 Hz, from the bowed down-tuned double bass representing the Mississippi night, the drums creating the sounds surrounding the night and the guitar being Robert’s mind.
More than playing parts, guitarist Folker Tettero and drummer Bert Kamsteeg are playing moods. I actually asked Bert to play the lyrics instead of the drums, a task I knew especially he would be able to fulfill. Throughout the album Folker is in constant dialogue with Carmen's melody line, sometimes edging her on and at other times comforting her. Folker decided to use an electric 12-string guitar on the small miniatures. The sounds he creates adds a whole new aspect to his musicianship and emphasizes his deep affinity for the blues. Carmen is at the top of her game here. Her 'never the same way twice' saxophone-like phrasing showing her jazz heritage and why jazz is in such great debt to the blues. Love in Vain in particular being a good example.
Engineer Frans De Rond created a One Mic Plus setup, adding two Josephson C700A microphones (vocal and bass) to the central Josephson C700S as well as an ambient spaced pair of Josephson C617 microphones up high as our main source of ambience. The benefit sound-wise, compared to the pure one-mic setup, being that the sound of Carmen’s voice and my double bass would not suffer when the band at certain moments would raise the dynamic level.
Arranging Robert Johnson's songs for Carmen Gomes Inc. was less difficult than I expected. Somehow each song was telling me instantly what to do. Even 'When You Got a Good Friend', with its J.S. Bach-inspired counterpoint, or 'Love In Vain' where the harmony used has more to do with bebop than blues, were written very quickly. It was as if they materialized instead of having to be arranged. Same goes for the instrumental compositions which were made on the spot, they took no effort, they played themselves.
A big thank-you goes out to Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow. Their book: 'Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson' has been very helpful in clarifying Robert Johnson’s life and lyrics as well as being a direct inspiration on the mood of the whole album.
Peter Bjørnild – Sound Liaison
Original Recording Format
- Recorded in: DXD 352kHz-24bit
- Mastered to: PCM 352kHz-24bit via high-end analog chain
- All other formats: Derived directly from the original master
Recording Details
- Recording date: 16 & 17 July 2020
- Recording location: Studio 2 (Heuvellaan Hilversum)
- Recording, mixing, and mastering: Frans de Rond
- Producers: Peter Bjørnild
- Arrangements: Peter Bjørnild with lots of help from Carmen, Folker and Bert.
Recording Equipment Used
- Microphone: Josephson C700S (Main), Josephson C700A (Peter), Josephson C700A (Carmen) and a spaced pair of Josephson C617 for ambience.
- Speakers: Linkwitz LX521.4 & TAD Compact Evolution
- Power Amplifier: Moon 760A
- AD converter: Merging Horus
- Mastering AD Converter: RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE
- Mastering Headphones: Hifiman HE1000se, Sennheiser HD800S
- Cables & Power Conditioners: AudioQuest
- Network Switch: SOtM – jitter-minimizing switch.
Available Now – Exclusive High-Resolution Download
Up Jump the Devil is available on Sound Liaison in ultra-high-resolution audio formats.
Discover the purity of high-end recording and the subtle brilliance of Europe’s finest acoustic jazz musicians.
Catalog Number: SL-1043A
Double-bass brass-slide C-extension made by Jeppe Mørch Sørensen
Cover photo and video by Milan Bjørnild
2 Meter Sessions photos by Michael Boersma
