Lost Bayou Ramblers' Album Nominated for Best Regional Roots Music Album Grammy

On November 28, the Recording Academy announced its nominations for the 2018 Grammy Awards. Among the nominees was the Lost Bayou Ramblers' latest album release Kalenda which was nominated for Best Regional Roots Music Album.

On November 28, the Recording Academy announced its nominations for the 2018 Grammy Awards. Among the nominees was the Lost Bayou Ramblers' latest album release Kalenda which was nominated for Best Regional Roots Music Album.

Meanwhile the Ramblers' Eric Heigle was head engineer and responsible for additional production on Arcade Fire's Everything Now album which was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album. In addition, Korey Richey who produced, engineered and played on Kalenda also engineered the Arcade Fire album as well as LCD Soundsystem's American Dream album, which in turn was nominated for Best Dance Recording. Lost Bayou Ramblers had previously had their A La Blue Moonalbum nominated for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album.

Lost Bayou Ramblers' evolution as a perversely progressive band rooted in Cajun traditions continues to excite, challenge, and redefine both genre expectations as well as cultural preconceptions. Their Jack White produced performance in the 2017 documentary series and on the accompanying record release American Epichelped solidify Lost Bayou Ramblers' reputation as one of the world's finest traditional Cajun outfits, if one of the least orthodox. With eight albums, contributions to the score of the Oscar-nominated Beasts Of The Southern Wild, and touring with both Arcade Fire and the Violent Femmes, Lost Bayou continues to swing wide from their Louisiana home base.

Lost Bayou Ramblers' new album celebrates the complex history and cultural diversity of "Kalenda" - a Carribean dance, a Louisiana rhythm, a Cajun rock'n'roll song, and eventually a woman's name - that crossed both the black-white and Creole-Cajun divides in so many forms. The Ramblers channel those suggestive rhythms associated with the dance as producer Richey masterfully incorporated new hues from his sonic palate into their arrangements. Once again, the band stands at the crosscurrents of Louisiana culture by inhabiting the gray area between Cajun and Creole, convention and innovation. Their Kalenda is at once a mystery and a revelation.

This amazing line-up of musicians led by brothers Louis Michot (fiddle and lead vocals) and Andre Michot (accordion and lapsteel), joined by Bryan Webre (electric bass), Johnny Campos (electric guitar), Eric Heigle (electronics and acoustic guitar), and Kirkland Middleton (drums) brought the cumulative experience of 17 years of touring, recording, and collaborating to bear on Kalenda's creation with intoxicating results. Special guests on the new album include Spider Stacy (the Pogues), Leyla McCalla (Carolina Chocolate Drops), Jimmy Horn (King James & The Special Men), and avant-garde Cajun saxophonist Dickie Landry.

Lost Bayou Ramblers was formed in 1999 by brothers Andre and Louis Michot, performing the roots Cajun music they learned as members of Les Frères Michot, the family band their father and uncles formed in the 80's. The brothers quickly began playing clubs and festivals around Louisiana, and taking the traditional music they were raised with to new levels of rhythmic energy and spontaneity, producing the punk and psychedelic labels given to the band by reviews over the years.

In 2012, with five albums under their belt the band released a shockingly progressive and sonically experimental record, Mammoth Waltz. With the production of Korey Richey (of LCD Soundsystem) and the help of guest artists Gordon Gano, Scarlett Johansson, and Dr. John, Mammoth Waltz was named #2 in the "Top 21 Louisiana albums of the 21st Century" by Times Picayune. Their contribution to the score of Beasts of the Southern Wild in 2012 brought them further renown worldwide, and continuing performances with Wordless Music Orchestra and score composers Benh Zeiltin and Dan Romer.

2014 brought LBR the support slot on Arcade Fire's REFLEKTOR tour. They also released Gasa Gasa Live, recorded at New Orleans' Uptown experimental music venue, one of four shows they played that day in the Crescent City.

Lost Bayou Ramblers have continually integrated new sonic elements to their live performances, always experimenting and growing the show to what it's become today, an eclectic mix of modern sounds and rhythms with ancient Cajun melodies and lyrics and that's reflected in the ambitious aesthetic reach of Kalenda. Following the album's release they appeared on NPR's prestigious World Café Live (their second performance on the show) and Mountain Stage programs.

www.lostbayouramblers.com

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