The Rhizome Project

It could be said that The Rhizome Project is Vermont-based Moira Smiley’s ode to roots music. But the metaphorical rhizome refers to a subterranean network beyond roots, spreading broadly and allowing healthy new shoots to sprout upwards. Smiley’s fertile project takes the form of a recording, a booklet of ‘song stories’ with her extensive notes for each of the 11 tracks and photographic portraits by Fiona Small, a fellow Vermonter whose stories are interwoven with those of the songs. And there’s a set of artful music videos for all the songs, reachable through Smiley’s website. The roots per se reach back to English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh ballads and their migrations to Appalachia, as well as to African-American folk music, along with a few original compositions. It’s all imaginatively rearranged by Smiley, who sings, plays piano, banjo, drums and field organ, and has previously collaborated with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Solas, Tune-Yards and Tim O’Brien. Here, she invites guests from a couple of these groups and from her international network, and works a classy, rather classical collaboration with what’s dubbed the Rhizome String Quartet. It’s an enchanting and exciting multimedia experience.