A River Runs Through Them

The Asheville music scene is rising rapidly, both in Southern Appalachia and on the national stage. River Whyless, a four-piece folk group from Asheville, makes waves with a wash of harmonies and lush violin melodies on its new album, We All the Light.

The voices of Ryan O’Keefe, Halli Anderson, and Daniel Shearin soar above percussion by Alex McWalters. Shearin adds musical texture on bass and banjo, as well as harmonium, a hand-held reed organ. Here Shearin talks about crafting the album and keeping ties with Asheville.

Describe the creative process of making this album.

This one was like a really open book. We started with one batch of songs and had a very distinct vision for them and things just weren’t working out. For one reason or another we decided to put those on the back burner and open up this new batch of ideas, which consisted of some songs, some choruses, some riffs, some things that were created on the spot. We went up to this place in Maine where a friend of the band has some land. He said we could hang out in the woodshed for a week and just write music. So we went up in this really picturesque part of Maine, right on a bay in the middle of a bunch of cedar trees, and set up shop.

What was the energy like between the four of you?

Each morning when we were in Maine, the four of us would carry logs from one side of the forest to the other for about an hour each morning. It got us working together and communicating early in the morning, and by the time we got down to the woodshed we all felt like we were already used to the idea of working together and communicating to achieve the one goal.

You play banjo, bass, cello, guitar, and harmonium. The band has even included a typewriter as percussion. What attracts you to these different instruments?

We all really like texture—musical textures—and you can achieve that with all sorts of things: everything from a typewriter to a thumb piano to screwing around with your guitar and putting things in it that make it sound different. Then there’s a harmonium, which adds an ambient layer, with a nice wash behind the music. It’s just experimenting, honestly.

River Whyless was part of WXPN’s World Cafe series “A Sense of Place.” Host David Dye came to North Carolina to interview bands that represent the spirit of Asheville. What did you want to convey about this region?

We love Asheville. Once you start gaining people’s trust and making your way into the circles here, everybody is really welcoming and really supportive. There’s not that cutthroat mentality that we seem to experience in other cities. When we’ve been on the road for a month, coming back over those Blue Ridge Mountains on the way home is always very refreshing and welcoming.

The band has gotten a great response to this album, both from fans and national media. What is it like to represent Asheville on this larger platform?

I haven’t really thought of us as ambassadors on a national level, but on all the personal levels where we meet people, Asheville comes with very high regards from us. It’s quite an honor to be included in the World Cafe “Sense of Place” and to be spoken of as part of all the different sounds of Asheville. To see that on an NPR page is really humbling and really a sincere honor that we’re very blessed and humble to have.

You’re touring the country this fall. Why do you maintain these ties with the Asheville music scene, like the in-store show you did this summer at Harvest Records?

The scene is so supportive and full of love. It’s a really bustling little scene on all levels of art, not just music. It’s something we always want to be actively involved in. I always try to do anything like the Harvest Records show whenever we get the chance. Things like that are what make a community.