Bleierne Akkorde, unterlegt mit Geschichte – „September 11, 2001“, der bislang unveröffentlichte Jam von Jason Molina, Will Oldham und Alasdair Roberts

Über dreizehn Jahre nach 9/11 veröffentlicht das US-Indie-Label Secretly Canadian einen ganz besonderen Schatz: den Song „September 11, 2001“, den der inzwischen verstorbene Jason Molina gemeinsam mit seinen Songwriter-Kollegen Will Oldham und Alasdair Roberts am Tag der Anschläge geschrieben und aufgenommen hat…

Bisher war weder die Existenz des Songs bekannt noch die Umstände, unter denen die Folk-Ballade seinerzeit entstanden ist. Wie der schottische Songwriter Alasdair Roberts in einem sehr persönlichen Statement auf der Seite von Secretly Canadian (in Gänze weiter unten zu finden) erklärt, habe er sich damals mit seinen US-Kollegen Will Oldham (alias Bonnie „Prince“ Billy) und Jason Molina – vor allem bekannt durch seine Bandprojekte Songs: Ohia und Magnolia Electric Co. – auf Tour angefreundet.

Die drei „Ikonen“ der damaligen Alt.Country- und Neofolk-Bewegung fanden sich daraufhin im September 2001 zum gemeinsamen Schreiben und Aufnehmen auf dem Hof von Molinas Bruder Paul, der sich auch den Sessions anschloss, in Kentucky ein.

Wie es der tragische Zufall wollte, fielen die Terroranschläge von 9/11 genau auf diesen Zeitraum – und bremsten die Musiker in ihrem Elan aus: Den Tag der Anschläge, so erinnert sich Roberts, hätten sie zunächst schockiert vor dem Fernseher verbracht; erst gegen Abend sammelten sie sich und nahmen die Sessions wieder auf – um als Reaktion auf die verstörenden Bilder „einfach so normal wie möglich weiterzumachen“.

In dieser Nacht also entstand „September 11, 2001“, ein stiller, elfminütiger Folksong mit sich schleichend steigernder Dramaturgie. Vielleicht wurde der Zeitpunkt der „Herausgabe“ des Stücks gar nicht mal so zufällig gewählt, immerhin ist die Welt kaum eine bessere als 2001. Und der Song selbst, der sich so bleiern traurig voran schleppt, fesselt auch mit über dreizehn Jahren Abstand noch, macht gar betroffen – irgendwie… Traurig ist ebenso, dass Jason Molina selbst die Veröffentlichung nicht mehr erlebt: Er starb 2013 infolge seiner langjährigen Alkoholabhängigkeit.

 

 

„The late Jason Molina and I had met a few times in England (when Jason was studying for a period in London) and in Scotland (Glasgow, where I lived then as now), after being introduced to one another by Will Oldham in late 1995. The recording session by Jason, Will, Will’s brother Paul and me was Jason’s idea originally. The prospect of working together with these musicians whose work I admired, and who were also cool people, was very exciting; so that’s how I found myself in Paul’s Kentucky farmhouse that historic weekend in 2001.

Of course, what made that weekend historic was certainly not this humble meeting of musical minds; rather, it was the fact that it coincided with the unanticipated and awful events of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks and the collapse of the World Trade Center. I am convinced that my memory of that period has been heightened by this coincidence; I have a strong recollection of Jason, Will, Paul and me recording on the evening of 10th September. I remember the warm southern evening sunshine (a particular delight for one accustomed to Scottish autumn weather), streaming through the window and infusing everything in the room with a kind of preternatural glow, as we recorded a version of Owen Hand’s wonderful song ‘My Donal.’ Will was playing a Nord synth and singing, Paul was on drums, Jason played bass guitar and I was playing Paul’s bright blue Telecaster. I remember walking by the barns that evening and seeing row upon row of tobacco drying, shining golden and lovely in the twilight. But none of us was to know that that would be, in some sense, the last twilight of an old world.

Jason woke me at about 10am the following morning with the words: ‘Ali, you should come downstairs. Something really bad is happening.’ My initial thought was that perhaps someone in the household had been injured or had fallen seriously ill. And so I went downstairs to confront the new global reality. Most of the rest of the day was spent watching the television news in numbed disbelief; in the evening we dined and talked together with some other members of the Oldham family. And then it seemed that the only thing to do was to carry on as normal – to pour ourselves a large Highland Park each and to make rock and roll, like we were born to do. So that’s how this piece of music came about – it was a spontaneous response from Jason’s soul to the unimaginably terrible events of that day, and it was one in which he invited Will (on piano), Paul (on Nord synth), me (on bowed mountain dulcimer) and every listener to cast their own offering.“

(Alasdair Roberts, via Secretly Canadian)

 

Rock and Roll.

Die Dämonen, die er rief… – Jason Molina ist tot.

Durch die Kraft seiner Songs machte er nicht wenigen Menschen Mut, gab ihnen, den düsteren Zeilen zum Trotz, Hoffnung auf einen nahenden Silberstreifen irgendwo am Horizont. Doch obwohl ihm seine Fans ihre Dankbarkeit – auch in barer Münze – heimzahlten, verlor Jason Molina, die Stimme hinter Kollektiven wie Songs: Ohia oder Magnolia Electric Co. am 16. März 2013 den jahrelangen Kampf gegen die eigenen inneren Dämonen. Er wurde 39 Jahre alt.

Und da ich stets lediglich Hörer – und nie Fan – war, lasse ich an dieser Stelle besser andere Quellen zu Wort kommen…

 

Hier der Nachruf seines Labels Secretly Canadian:

„We are deeply saddened to announce that Jason Andrew Molina passed away in his home in Indianapolis this past Saturday, March 16th of natural causes at age 39. Jason was a world class musician, songwriter & recording artist. He was also a beloved friend. He first caught international attention in 1996 when he began releasing albums under the name Songs: Ohia. In 2003 he started the band Magnolia Electric Co. Between those two bands he released over a dozen critically-acclaimed albums and, starting in 1997, he toured the world every year until he had to stop in 2009 to deal with severe alcoholism. Jason was incredibly humbled by his fans’ support through the years and said that the two most important words he could ever say are ‚Thank you.‘

This is especially hard for us to share. Jason is the cornerstone of Secretly Canadian. Without him there would be no us – plain and simple. His singular, stirring body of work is the foundation upon which all else has been constructed. After hearing and falling in love with the mysterious voice on his debut single ‚Soul‚ in early 1996, we approached him about releasing a single on our newly formed label. For some reason he said yes. We drove from Indiana to New York to meet him in person, and he handed us what would become the first of many JMo master tapes. And with the Songs: Ohia One Pronunciation of Glory 7″ we were given a voice as a label. The subsequent self-titled debut was often referred to by fans as The Black Album. Each Songs: Ohia album to follow proved a new, haunting thesis statement from a prodigal songwriter whose voice and soul burned far beyond that of the average twenty-something. There was organ-laced, sepia-toned econimica (1998′s Impala) and charred-hearted, free form balladry (1999′s Axxess and Ace). There were the dark glacial make-out epics of 2000′s The Lioness and the jungle incantations of 2000′s Ghost Tropic. There was the career-defining agnostic’s gospel of 2002′s Didn’t It Rain, an album about setting roots that also seemed to offer solace to a world that had recently seen its bar on terror raised. It was followed in 2003 by a thrilling about-face, the instant classic Magnolia Electric Co., which took Jason’s songwriting to ’70s classic rock heights. The move was such a powerful moment for Molina that Magnolia Electric Co. became the new moniker under which he would perform until 2009. With Magnolia Electric Co., Jason found a brotherhood in his bandmates, with whom he built an incredible live experience and made a truly classic album in Josephine (2009).

We’re going to miss Jason. He was generous. He was a one of a kind. And he had a voice unlike any other.

Fans can contribute to Jason’s medical fund as a memorial gift by sending money via PayPal.“

 

Außerdem findet ihr hier den Nachruf der deutschen Ausgabe des Rolling Stone, und hier einen sehr persönlichen – einen Nachruf, wie ihn wohl nur ein wahrer Fan schreiben kann…

Mach’s gut, Jason.

 

 

Rock and Roll.