Louisiana-based archivist Paul Dufrene has, over the past few years, quietly developed a reputation for having one of the most trusted sets of ears in music. With his Maison Dufrene series for Aquarium Drunkard, his Louisiana-themed series for Country Roads, and his own Platter Playlist mixes, he’s flexed the kind of deep-knowledge muscles that most music snobs would kill for.
With the days getting shorter and even LA feeling cold and rainy these days, we asked him to put together a playlist of his favorite songs for the end of fall. His reflections—and his choice mix of rain-day British folk—are below.
I was first introduced to British folk when I was living in Philadelphia. The ambient tones of Bridget St. John, Nick Drake, and Fairport Convention glided through my ears from the airwaves of a certain Jersey City station, while I saw the late Bert Jansch, in the flesh, and even revivalists like Meg Baird and Joanna Newsom at the First Unitarian Church. I couldn’t help but associate any autumn wind gust with a certain song or categorize every mood I was in with a certain folk record. But just as soon as it was there, it was gone. The summer days were backed by sweet soul and country while December and the snow called for nothing but jazz. It was that sweet spot from late September through November that felt as if they were wrapped loosely in a quilt stitched together with autumnal tones and acoustic guitars.
Through the following mix that I am hoping to piece together some of the songs that guided my transformation(In the northeast and now down south, where I currently reside) to the folk appreciator I am today.
