Diggin' For GOLD

Our regular look at the more arcane corners of record collecting. Includes Vintage Venue and Sound And Vision

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REUNITED STATES

Jemma Paton talks to prog rockers Art In America, whose 1983 debut is being joined by a follow-up 43 years on

Progressive rock history is littered with cult acts whose ambition outpaced their exposure, but few stories are as compelling as that of Art In America. Their 1983 self-titled debut album (Pavillion BFZ 38517, LP, US, £4; Epic EPC 25493, LP, Eur, £7) didn't just introduce a new band; it introduced a new lead instrument to rock, the harp. Yet despite early attention and a powerhouse prog producer, the band vanished, leaving behind a record that faded into obscurity.

The band's origins are almost mythic for prog devotees: siblings Chris (lead vocals and principal songwriter), Dan (drums/percussion), and Shishonee Flynn, aka Katheryn Flynn, now Krupa (harp, vocals), came together in 1980 with close friend and bassist Jim Kuha. The Flynn brothers had paid their dues playing covers in Michigan bars under the name Father, while Shishonee's work with The Trees Community provided her with a religious and spiritual intimacy with instruments, particularly the concert harp.

Art In America's identity crystallised around the unique decision to make the harp the central voice in the band's sound. This was both unprecedented and blatantly uncommercial. The group used the harp as a structural instrument, making it part of the band's melodic and harmonic engine, alongside its counterparts, the electric guitar and synthesiser.

Shishonee Flynn, a self-taught harpist, explains how her unique style of playing affects the music: “I write and perform my harp parts in an unusual way. Sometimes I play it almost as a rhythm guitarist or as a keyboard player would, but at other times I play it as a lead guitarist would.”