“Shadowbands,” a contemplative, atmospheric composition inspired by 2017’s solar eclipse, features Stoffel accompanied by Gina Furtado (banjo), acclaimed Irish fiddler/violinist Niall Murphy, co-producer Josh Morrison on guitar, and longtime colleague Ross Sermons (upright bass),
“The musicians, whom I am honored to call very close friends of mine, all live scattered around the world, so we produced this video in an extreme socially-distanced fashion: Ross Sermons shot his bass part near Hobart, Tasmania; Niall Murphy, fiddle, posed for his part in South Armagh, Northern Ireland; and Gina Furtado, banjo, picked her scenic spot near her hometown of Winchester, Virginia. Josh, the guitarist, and I captured our parts in Alto Pass, Illinois,” Stoffel told The Bluegrass Situation. “It was a lot of fun to put together, both the recording and the video. I hope it shows.”
Throughout “Shadowbands,” Stoffel punctuates a distinctively symmetrical melody and classic fiddle tune structure with moody interludes that capture the skittering feel of the natural phenomenon for which the track is named.
“You can find the specifics online,” Stoffel notes, “but in short, shadow bands are wavy light patterns that happen briefly before and shortly after totality. Like many of the phenomena associated with a solar eclipse, these happen on the ground, not in the sky, and they are truly amazing.”
