My KUTX: Iron & Wine

Photo by Gabriel Cristóver Pérez/KUTX

Since debuting with the lower-than-lo-fi The Creek Drank The Cradle in 2002, Sam Beam has increasingly pushed at the boundaries of his Iron & Wine moniker. He’s tried dusty folk-rock, busy Afrobeat, even orchestral, outré jazz. He’s a musical omnivore, stitching together influences into beautiful, quasi-mystical sonic tapestries.

Of course, Beam would be the first to laugh at the lofty praise. Until recently, he was a common, low-key sight around town, living with his family in Dripping Springs, playing a yearly benefit for the Midwives Alliance, and even putting on his old film professor hat to present some forgotten cinematic masterpiece for the Paramount’s summer film series. Nowadays, he lives in North Carolina, but while in town for his annual benefit and film commitments, he recorded a fantastic guest DJ set for us. It’s a giddy mixture of songs, covering Beam’s love of Brazilian music, old soul, and John Aielli-assisted oddities. Listen to My KUTX on Saturday, July 29 at 6 p.m. or anytime at the bottom of the page.

Beast Epic, Iron & Wine’s sixth album, is out August 25 via Sub Pop.

–Art Levy // producer, My KUTX

Playlist:

1. Milton Nascimento – “Minas”

2. Otis Redding – “You Left The Water Running”

3. The Knife – “Still Light

4. Richard & Linda Thompson – “Dimming Of The Day”

5. Joni Mitchell – “The Jungle Line”

6. Chairmen Of The Board – “Give Me Just A Little More Time”

7. Cocteau Twins – “Carolyn’s Fingers”

8. Various Artists/Explorer Series – “Adios, Pueble de Ayacucho (harp)”

9. Rahsaan Roland Kirk – “One Ton” (Live at Newport Jazz Festival, 1968)

10. Jingo – “Fever”

11. The Faces – “Glad & Sorry”

12. American Analog Set – “The Weather Report”

13. Franz Waxman – “Suite from ‘A Place In The Sun'”

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