Among the many artists featured in my 20 years of Dandelion Radio retrospective a few stand out as regulars of my show over a long period of time. Among them is Diane Marie Kloba. From Chicago, Diane's music and vocal style sound unlike anything else. I love artists whose style is so distinctive it's hard to guess at the influences behind them. There aren't many such artists but Diane's music has passed this stringest test with every album she's made.
Not only that, but each album tends to contain some element that manages to surpass its predecessor in terms of its framing of Diane's distinctive vocal style. Her tenth, Red Sun, came out last year. 'These songs take on a serious tone but I am seeking to convey a spirit of optimism and forward thinking outlook,' comments Diane in the album notes. It's a defiant album created by an artist standing for humanity, vulnerability and perception amid the chaos of an America that's not just lost its way, but has found another, very dangerous one. But beneath the fragility of Diane's songs lies a profoundly human strength and that's exactly what we need right now.
The track I'm playing in my show this week is one that featured in a session Diane did for us in 2018, featuring three acoustic versions of her songs, including the one I feature, an acoustic version of her wonderfully evocative Took the Train Alone. The songs were released on an EP called Deep Heart Acoustic, which is available for NYP here.
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