Folk singer Carolyn Kendrick sets out to assess the human condition and addressed issues of the day” by examining the “entire history of the world and its woes, from biblical times to right now” in her album Each Machine, arriving on on Occulture Records on December 6th, 2024.

A new single “Leela” will arrive on October 29th, and “The Devil’s Nine Questions,” is out now.

The album’s eight songs are interspersed with spoken-word segments from political speeches and protests. Celtic and Appalachian influences contrast with “sometimes unsettling words and lyrics.” They’re connected by a multi-faceted figure of the devil in human history.

Kendrick, who produced Each Machine, also plays fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars, cuatro, percussion, piano, organ and accordion on the album. Her pieces combine several traditional and newer Folk tunes. Only one song, “A Perfect World,” contains original music (the lyrics are her interpretation of the David Keig poem, “The Devil is in Me”).

She credits another poem, Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s 18th Sonnet to Orpheus, translated by A. Poulin Jr., as the album’s inspiration. Friends and family are brought in to recite the title track’s verses, accented by acoustic guitar, orchestral chimes and a handheld harp.

Upcoming shows

Oct. 30 – Los Angeles City Center (High Occulture launch party)

Dec. 5 –  The Back Room, Berkeley, Calif.

Dec. 13 – Healing Force of the Universe, Pasadena, Calif.

Jan. 16 – Palindrome Port Townsend Event Center, Port Townsend, Wash.

Jan. 17 – Concerts in the Barn –Quilcene, Wash.

Jan. 18 – Portland Folk Music Society, East Portland, Ore.

Jan. 19 – Churchill School, Baker City, Ore.
Jan. 21 – Jefferson Center for the Arts, Mount Shasta, Calif.

Jan. 22 – The Battery, San Francisco, Calif.

Jan. 23 – Freight & Salvage, Berkeley, Calif.

Jan. 25 – The Side Door, Sacramento, Calif.