Listen to 'Lost Indian' on Laurel Premo's latest album 'The Iron Trios' smarturl.it/theirontrios
Recorded at the Beethoven & Banjos Festival in 2019 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Laurel Premo - fiddle
Joshua Davis - guitar
Evan Premo - double bass
Photography - Zolton Cohen
Recording - Michael Beauchamp-Cohen
Mixed, Edited & Colored by Laurel Premo
"The traditional melody that this arrangement is based on comes from rural Oblong, IL, from a fiddler named Alva Miller. This tune was collected in 1977 by Garry Harrison and L. Holliday. Upon their visit, Alva had not fiddled for nearly 30 years, so he chose to sing this tune into their recording devices. The name 'Lost Indian' is attributed to dozens of related and non-related fiddle melodies all over the US, 4 or 5 different versions in southern Illinois alone, but Alva Miller's version is quite singular in its form and melody."
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An important note regarding the title of this traditional tune:
Examining and redefining the appropriate way to both hold old tunes and use old tune names is an ongoing process in the traditional music community of the United States. It’s an active conversation that includes multiple generations and people of color.
The artist chose to use the original title of this traditional melody on 'The Iron Trios' album release because of the historical significance of the unique version of this tune being collected in Southern Illinois, and her work to unearth folk tradition in the midwest. It is historically significant in understanding and researching the folk process that this name is shared by dozens of different melodies in folk fiddling, from many regions.
The term ‘Indian’ is one reclaimed by some indigenous groups in the US, and one condemned by others. Though the title ‘Lost Indian’ does not communicate violence or disparagement of the subject, inherently, the term ‘Indian’ is offensive to some peoples. The traditional music community is actively working to find a balance between revisionism and repair.