Mikaela Davis was thinking big when it came to her new LP, Graceland Way (Kill Rock Stars). “Big” as in Los Angeles County, site of the hillside home where she recorded the album. “Big” as in the epic “canyon country” sound she wanted to convey. “Big” as in the legends Graceland Way references: Elvis Presley, Gram Parsons, Paul Simon. “Big” as in her efforts to bridge the immense emotional chasms between darkness and light, earthly struggles and cosmic purity.
Raised in Rochester, N.Y., and now living in the Hudson Valley, Davis is already an acclaimed harpist. With Graceland Way, she’s coming into her own as a songwriter. Of course, it helps to surround yourself with the right people. In this case, it was bassist Dan Horne, who supplied his studio in Chevy Chase Canyon, and noted guitarist and songwriting partner John Lee Shannon. Both co-produced Graceland Way with Davis, recording in chunks whenever the time felt right. Guests include Madison Cunningham, Hannah Read, Neal Francis, Tim & Eric’s Tim Heidecker, Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman, Felice Brothers’ James Felice and Mapache’s Clay Finch.
To celebrate the album’s release, Davis curated this Spotify playlist for MAGNET. Here’s her take on it:
“Shoegaze for cowboys. Alt-country under a desert sky. These songs carve out a space that exists somewhere near the intersection of Lee Hazlewood and Cocteau Twins. It’s a sound—and, even more so, an idea—that greatly inspired Graceland Way. The songs on this playlist fall somewhere under this category and give you an idea of what we consider bootgaze.”
—Hobart Rowland
See Mikaela Davis live.
