Mason Jennings Seeks Forest Refuge for Latest Album

Posted on Sep 3rd 2009 4:00PM by Adam Horne

Like a present-day Henry David Thoreau, Hawaii-born folk musician Mason Jennings found himself overwhelmed by the pace of modern living and decided to get in touch with nature. Secluded in a house in the woods of Minnesota, Jennings wrote, recorded and produced his new album 'Blood of Man' entirely by himself.

During a recent visit to Spinner's New York office, the soft spoken singer-songwriter told our staff, "I kept realizing how much time I spent on my computer or a BlackBerry, so I just wanted to get a physicality back into the music and a humanness to it." Winding down from the stresses of constant touring, Jennings was inspired to take new risks during his stint in the woods. "The record's really raw ... I tried to make sure it stays like first or second takes on all the performances," he said. And as for the album's title? "It's called 'Blood of Man' -- it's got life and it's got blood in it."

During his office visit, Jennings treated us to an impromptu solo performance of some of the new material, including the dreamy folk-pop tune ;Lonely Road,' and the politically-tinged 'The Field,' written from the point of view of a parent with a child at war. Fans can get a taste of the new tunes as well as a behind the scenes look at the recording process by watching the 'Blood of Man' short film on Mason Jenning's official website.

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=709785&pid=709784&uts=1251931477

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf

Mason Jennings Visits Spinner Offices

Mason Jennings visits the Spinner offices. August 27, 2009 New York, NY
See All Photos >>

Max W. Orenstein, Spinner.com