![\"deslondes\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/deslondes.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNew Orleans-based group The Deslondes<\/b> effortlessly mix up genres: their music has clear antecedents in country, zydeco, jazz, soul, and even rock ‘n’ roll. They’re currently in pre-production on a follow-up to their self-titled 2015 debut. The Deslondes returned to Asheville NC for a May 12 show at The Grey Eagle. I recently spoke with pedal steel guitarist and fiddler John James (JJ) Tourville<\/b>.<\/p>\n
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Bill Kopp:<\/strong> When I heard \u201cFought the Blues and Won\u201d on The Deslondes<\/i>, the first thing I thought was, \u201cFats Domino meets Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.\u201d Do you consciously develop songs and arrangements that touch on \u2013 and even blur the lines between \u2013 various genre styles?<\/span><\/p>\n JJ Tourville:<\/b> It’s a mixture. We all listen to a lot of music, so we’re inspired by a lot of different stuff. So when we write and arrange the songs, influences come through. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be our song.<\/p>\n The album’s production aesthetic has a very live, organic feel. In this age of ProTools, how did you achieve such a natural sound?<\/span><\/p>\n We’ve been working with the same producer in Nashville, Andrija Tokic<\/strong>, for years. He’s been working on the same board since he was 12. We do straight analog recording, with 2-inch tape. Plus the way we come to this music is by teaching each other, and learning from other folks; it’s all passed around.<\/p>\n You describe the songwriting process as democratic. How does that work in practice?<\/span><\/p>\n All five of us write. For the first album, someone in the band would have a song idea, and then we would arrange it together, maybe add a bridge. And for the next album, we all met up in Athens, Ga. last winter to write together. Lyrically and musically we work that way: if someone’s missing a verse, someone else helps out.<\/p>\n