After a seriously long break Waldeck - famous for his highly acclaimed “Ballroom Stories” (2007) - is back on the scene with “The Weatherman” to be followed soon by his long awaited full length album “Rio Grande” Ousted from the glorious ballrooms still wearing polished shoes and a tuxedo we join Waldeck on a trip through the South Western parts of the USA, stopping at cheap motels and shabby night clubs. We find ourselves on the front porch of a wooden condo, located maybe in Texas, maybe in Louisiana. It is too hot to move. Only as the dusk slowly settles in does it get a bit cooler. An old AM receiver crackles and we hear the weatherman with the forecast for tomorrow, which has been the same for the past weeks. We hear the unmistakable voice of singer Joy Malcolm (late of Moby), who lives here alone with her teenage son, after her husband (aka “the sugarman”) disappeared years ago allegedly dying in a car crash. Waldeck leaves the next day and moves further west to New Mexico, where he hooks up with ex-con and part time singer Carl Avory (convicted for manipulating the mileage of used cars) who operates an illegal crack joint near Santa Fe disguised as retro Rock & Roll club. After a violent domestic scene involving kitchen knives and the odd reconciliation (“Hold me Tight”) Waldeck decides to hit the road again and moves on to Arizona. As we travel further west, making 120 miles per hour listening to the latest “police hunt blues harp-tunes” on our car system we eventually pass the “Rio Grande” (vinyl only).
Musically, Waldeck dwells on offbeat rhythms and combines them with blues, dub & reggae. And it works well.