Since signing with Australian label Hidden Shoal Records, Colorado-based Kramies Windt has forged a critically, if not necessarily commercially successful career by drawing on his European (Dutch) background, adding this to his own Appalachian roots and teaming up with indie producer, Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle. The result is a unique blend of the new world and the traditional; the medieval hipster who, through the delicate spells he weaves, creates a mellow trip to a sonic netherworld.
In the way of musicians of Kramiss’ artistic spirit, this much anticipated six track EP was conceived within the walls of an Irish castle. Creating the right mood is of course vital, and on his return Kramies, along with Lytle, Todd Tobias of Guided by Voices and Train’s Jerry Becker emerged with this enigmatic and ethereal soundtrack to a melancholy Middle Earth. At 23 minutes, “Of All The Places Been & Everything The End” seems longer than it is, but strangely, that works to its credit. It plays like a single nu-folk epic rather than a collection of separate tracks, almost unnoticeable as they blend into one another, like a mythical Pink Floyd. At the centre of the EP, introduced by the sound of crunching footprints on frosty gravel is the eight minute highlight ‘Ireland.’ The mix of dynamic production, acoustic and electronic instrumental work and Kraimiss’ powerful vocal conjures the atmosphere of another era, the storytelling the struggles of generations lost.
‘Of All The Places Been & Everything The End’ meanders through a representation of all that Kraimiss is as an artist, proving again that few can capture the essence of this particular brand of folk with this much grace.
