From The Desk Of Thalia Zedek: Vietnamese Jaw Harp

It can be daunting, being in a band that winds up one of the influential acts of its day. If Boston’s Come, one of the most acclaimed groups to emerge from the early-’90s indie scene, had released nothing but debut album Eleven:Eleven, its importance for musicians in that scene would likely have been established anyway. Hard, noirish, frequently violent in its approach to blues patterns and styles slowed to a molasses-drip pace, few bands hit as heavy as Come. And few musicians, in Come or elsewhere, came as hard to the stage and the studio as Thalia Zedek. Now comes Via (Thrill Jockey), a record that finds her striking off in new aesthetic and collaborative territory. Zedek will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on her.

Zedek: With one of these things, you can singlehandedly compose a soundtrack to the horror movie of your dreams, or play along to an early Leonard Cohen record. Different from its American counterpart, sometimes known as a Jew’s Harp, the Vietnamese version is longer and skinnier, and I was actually able to figure out how to play it real good. Unfortunately, it was permanently ruined in a laundry accident before I had a chance to incorporate it into my band. I got it in an “exotic” instrument store in Vienna, Austria. It came in a little embroidered case, and at around $10 was the only thing there that I could afford. If anyone knows where I can find one in the States, please let me know, as that’s a long way to travel for a jaw harp.

Video after the jump.