I blame my misguided teenage infatuation with popular rap music for the fact that I can’t but help associate the last names ‘Kaniff’ or ‘Kenniff’ with the homosexual caricature featured on several of Eminem’s albums. In reality, Keith Kenniff a.k.a. Goldmund a.k.a. Helios is far more worthy of remembering, and his music far more enjoyable and intellectually gratifying. Under his Goldmund moniker, Kenniff will be releasing his next full-length album All Will Prosper on December 6 via Western Vinyl.
In a marked departure from Goldmund’s previous, almost entirely piano-centered albums, All Will Prosper promises to bring something new to the conceptual and stylistic table. Representing Kenniff’s ongoing fascination with the American Civil War and the distinct culture on display during that tumultuous period, the album is being marketed as a collection of 14 traditional Civil War-era folk songs, and one contemporary track ‘Asoken Farewell.’ Yes, your intuition is correct — ‘folk songs’ does, in this case, connote the use of an acoustic guitar.
The album as a whole was recorded over a period of five years, and utilized close micing techniques on both the piano and the guitar in order to bring a sense of importance to every note and every detail. Despair and the incomprehensible loss associated with the war are both themes here, but so is the unimaginable strength and perseverance that followed. Kenniff, through his music, has always had an eye toward appealing to human emotion, and what better way to do that than to have in mind one of the most devastating and life-altering events in American history.
All Will Prosper tracklisting:
01. The Death of General Wolfe
02. Ashoken Farewell
03. All Quiet on the Potomac
04. Amazing Grace
05. Dixie
06. The Flag of Coumbia Shall Float O’er Us Still
07. The Ballad of Barbara Allen
08. Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier
09. Battle Cry of Freedom
10. Shenandoah (free download here)
11. Who’ll Save the Left
12. Just Before the Battle Mother
13. The Yellow Rose of Texas
14. Bonnie Blue Flag
15. When Johnny Comes Marching Home
• Goldmund: http://www.myspace.com/goldmundmusic
• Western Vinyl: http://westernvinyl.com
