This Field Recording almost didn’t happen. A heavy rain drenched the Aspen Ideas Festival campus two hours before we were scheduled to record with Alynda Segarra, a.k.a. Hurray for the Riff Raff. Thankfully, the sky dried out — so Segarra, tourmate Johnny Wilson and our production team hiked up a grassy hill and down to this fragrant sage-filled meadow to record five stunning songs.
The setting was apt. Segarra’s music can be sweet and tender, like the leaves that blur parts of our camera shots, but their personal stories told through song are as wide-screen as the Elk Mountains in the background. What’s really impressive is how full this music sounds with only two guitars and the occasional harmonization from Wilson, who sings at just the right moments and complements Segarra’s melodic lines with perfect intonation.
Our Field Recording features stripped-down songs of love, loss and vulnerability from Hurray for the Riff Raff’s ninth album, The Past Is Still Alive, one of our favorites of the year. Segarra wrote the lyrics to process their past trauma, current identity and dreams for a better future.
Recorded June 26, 2024, on the campus of the Aspen Ideas Festival.
SET LIST
- “Alibi”
- “Buffalo”
- “Hawkmoon”
- “Colossus of Roads”
- “Snake Plant (The Past Is Still Alive)”
MUSICIANS
- Alynda Segarra: vocals, guitar
- Johnny Wilson: vocals, guitar
NPR TEAM
- Director: Mito Habe-Evans
- Editor: Annabel Edwards
- Videographers: Tsering Bista, Mito Habe-Evans
- Audio Engineer: Josh Newell
- Post-Production Coordinator: Tsering Bista
- Supervising Editor: Becky Lettenberger
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
ASPEN IDEAS TEAM
- Senior Producer: Ava Hartmann
- Videographers: Ryan Lohr, Will Sardinsky
- Audio Engineer: Michael Milota
- Audio Services Director: Matt Windholz
- Festival Director: Graham Veysey
SPECIAL THANKS
- Kemy J
Copyright 2024 NPR
