Eden Brent's 'Ain't Got No Troubles' Was No Trouble To Produce

NEW YORK (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - Eden Brent of Greenville, Mississippi traveled downriver to New Orleans, Louisiana, to record 'Ain't Got No Troubles,' out September 7th from Yellow Dog Records, bringing the distinctive vocal and piano talents that earned Blues Music Award accolades as Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year. She also brought a certainty: "This record will have a New Orleans sound!"

Producer Colin Linden (Lucinda Williams, Cassandra Wilson) wanted that too. And he used a number of special techniques, drawing on recording traditions inspired by the classic recordings of producer Cosimo Matassa (Fats Domino, Little Richard) to highlight Eden's husky voice and sure-fingered piano style. It didn't hurt that the venue was the venerable Piety Street Studios (Elvis Costello Allen Toussaint, The Blind Boys of Alabama), which fostered a particularly intimate sound.

Transparency was key to Linden's approach. He recorded Brent's vocals live to analog tape, in an open room without headphones, overdubs or added reverb. The result was an exceptional sense of "presence", capturing the full impact of Eden's affecting emotional range.

Linden especially wanted to capture Eden's spontaneity. "She goes on faith when she plays," he says, "and I think that makes for very exciting music." Most arrangements were put together in the studio; even the horns were arranged on the spot. Bassist George Porter, Jr. of the Meters, who played on many Matassa-produced tracks, kept things funky.
Watch a video about the making of Eden Brent's 'Ain't Got No Troubles' here: https://bit.ly/cwTwyo

A recent NPR.org Song of the Day feature for the album's title track deemed Eden "an expert channeler of old-time blueswomen," and praised her "irresistibly fresh" vocals. Listen/read it here: https://n.pr/c9qWPo

More about Eden Brent:
https://yellowdogrecords.com/eden
https://www.edenbrent.com/
https://shorefire.com/clients/ebrent/