Arborea

Arborea is an American folk group from Lewiston, Maine, active since 2005. It is centred on husband-and-wife duo Shanti Curran and Buck Curran. The group is also associated with indie folk, psych folk, freak folk and avant folk, but its core sound is rooted in folk.

Members and instrumentation

Shanti Curran handles lead vocals and plays banjo, banjimer harmonium, ukulele, sawing fiddle and hammered dulcimer. Buck Curran sings and plays guitar, slide guitar and sawing fiddle. The two share songwriting, arrangements and production.

Releases and compilations

Since 2005, Arborea has released five albums and also curates compilation projects. These include Leaves of Life and We Are All One, In The Sun, a tribute to Robbie Basho, which Buck Curran compiles and produces. Their recordings include Wayfaring Summer on Summer Street Records, Arborea on Fire Museum Records, House of Sticks on Borne!/Acuarela Records with U.S. distribution through Darla Records, a remastered digital edition of House of Sticks, Red Planet on Strange Attractors Audio House, and Fortress of the Sun on ESP-Disk'.

Reception and media

Red Planet receives critical attention in 2011, with recognition from Rolling Stone, Guitar Player, Mojo, Uncut and the Portland Phoenix. Fortress of the Sun follows in 2013 and appears in end-of-year selections from AllMusic, Acoustic Guitar magazine, textura and the Best of Echoes listener poll.

Broadcasts and live appearances

Arborea performs throughout the United States, the UK and Europe, and appears in sessions and interviews on the BBC, NPR, WNYC and WXPN. Recorded appearances include BBC Radio 3’s World on 3, a WFMU session with Irene Trudel, and NPR features on World Cafe and Tiny Desk Concert.

Other projects

The group contributes to and appears on several benefit and tribute compilations, including Beautiful Star: The Songs of Odetta and a World Food Program benefit release titled Leaves of Life.