Anya Hinkle is a seasoned bluegrass songstress deeply rooted in the stringband tradition of the Appalachian Mountains. You may know her from other roots projects such Tellico or Dehlia Low, both bands of which she’s a founding member.
Hinkle is currently in the process of recording her first full-length album under her own name. As a taster for what her debut album has to offer, we present you with her latest single, “Hills of Swannanoa”, a haunting raw modal tune depicting the Great Flood of 1916 in the Asheville mountains. The song was co-written by banjoist and composer, Akira Satake, who laid out the instrumental foundation.
“Hills of Swannanoa” is the story of the Great Flood of 1916. The unusually heavy mid-summer rains that year, in addition to heavy logging in the Carolina mountains caused severe flooding of Swannanoa and French Broad Rivers and heavy damage in the Asheville area.“
Hinkle is a magnificent songwriter. “Hills of Swannanoa” is a perfect example of her ability to be both a storyteller and a poet. Combine that with the modal instrumentation and you can almost imagine the stillness of the mysterious mountains of North Carolina before the heavens open, drowning the landscape in copious amounts of water, tearing apart people’s homes and businesses.
Artist: Anya Hinkle
Track: Hills of Swannanoa
Album: Hills of Swannanoa (Single)
Click here to stream “Hills of Swannanoa” on Spotify