Jolies Letters is an acoustic duo from the city of Rennes in France’s Brittany district, a region whose native folk music has much in common with the Celtic strains that informed the creation of bluegrass. Many old time musicians, especially in Canada, have been deeply influenced by Breton fiddle music.
But Matthieu Grimm and Victor Denancé of Jolies Letters are proponents of Appalachian music, and sing and play in a style that calls to mind recordings by Doc Watson and Norman Blake. Their latest album is called New Country, and features 12 tracks of the two Frenchmen on guitar, fiddle, and voice. Both play extremely well, and other than the accents, you wouldn’t know it didn’t come from the hollers of Kentucky or West Virginia.
They have created this video overview of the project to offer a taste of their relaxed and completely authentic old time sound.
New Country is available now wherever you stream or download music online.
