Billy Strings & Don Julin - Fiddle Tune X

If you were present at the 2014 Folk Alliance Conference, you probably heard an intriguing name whispered about from showroom to showroom, session to session -- that of a young man named Billy Strings.
Like the unholy child of Pantera and Tony Rice, Strings and his mandolin-toting cohort Don Julin wowed crowds at the Kansas City-based conference with their high-flying act of steel string virtuosity.
Now, The Sitch is pleased to premiere this dynamic duo's explosive new record Fiddle Tune X, a collection of live recordings and studio sessions that show off Strings' bourbon-barrel vocals and speed metal guitar licks.
"The majority of this album was recorded with a single microphone placed between the musicians. The balance of vocals and instruments was controlled by the actual acoustic blend augmented by working the distance from the microphone," Strings tells The Sitch.
"Basically, the musicians would step a bit closer to the microphone for the lead vocal and instrumental breaks. This type of recording cannot be remixed or rebalanced so the performance in the balance is all performed live in real time. A second microphone was used to capture the room ambience of each location. Vintage-style microphones and electronics were used whenever possible to add to the old-school recording approach. Upon careful listening, you will hear a variety of distortions and noises, ranging from mechanical and electronic noises to audience comments and traffic sounds, and we feel that all of this adds to the realness of the recording."