BUCK CURRAN INTERVIEW
(Originally aired on May 12, 2011)
A husband-and-wife duo comprising Buck on guitar and Shanti Curran on harmonium, banjo, ukulele and hammered dulcimer, Arborea blends elements of blues, Appalachian, classical Indian and traditional folk music to create haunting and often otherworldly sounds. Arborea has toured the US, UK and Europe, performing at festivals and concerts in Wales, England, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland. In addition to playing acoustic and electric fingerstyle and slide guitar, Buck is also a luthier who builds some of the instruments he plays. The duo shares writing, arranging, recording and production duties, and often tracks their music in a rustic mountain cabin in Maine.
Since 2006, the duo has released four albums: Wayfaring Summer, Arborea, House of Sticks and their 2011 full-length, Red Planet. In our exclusive interview, Buck explains how he and Shanti recorded Red Planet and describes his varied and unusual musical influences, which include jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, sitarist Nikhil Banerjee, Applachian banjo pioneer Hobart Smith and Jimi Hendrix.