EstherGolton.com music and info on Esther Golton
Talkeetna Alaska Dulcimer and Flute Performer
Esther Golton Biography
Talkeetna, Alaska is a long way from the home of the Appalachian mountain dulcimer. So it makes sense that singer-songwriter Esther Golton would elicit some non-traditional sounds from this instrument, which she uses as the main accompaniment for her songs. “You can paint a surprising range of sounds and textures with a dulcimer,” she says, “especially when you plug it in.”
Esther released Talkeetna Roadhouse Live in the spring of 2002. For some time, she has been working on a new CD – Bent Nails – which honors the 12x12 self-built cabin where she lives and records. “I’ve got 2 woodstoves, a kitchen, a recording studio, a queen-sized bed, a piano, and a sound engineer in the space many Americans would use for a bathroom…”
Esther spent her first year in Alaska in an old log cabin 20 miles from the nearest road. “It’s a simple and peaceful life, a different reality. No music equipment, computers, telephone… or people.” Following that sojourn she moved to Talkeetna, built her own little house, and became part of a small, vibrant musical community 100 miles north of Anchorage. “All of this seems ordinary to me now, but years ago, when I was a Philly girl, I couldn’t have imagined this kind of life for myself.”
Appropriately, her songs vary widely in mood and subject matter. “Echo Point” is a spooky ballad about a love that could not survive isolation in the Alaskan bush. “My Head’s In The Trees” humorously questions city life and celebrates outhouses. “Louise” is a poignant reflection about a friend with a brain tumor. And “Toe Jam” is a silly rap about… well… the condition of one’s feet after a long distance hike. That’s a smattering of what audiences can expect to hear at her concerts.
And then there’s the flute. “People keep telling me the flute is ‘my instrument’. Funny – it was years of classical flute study that caused me to rebel musically. Now, I improvise. It’s an exhilarating freedom. My body just takes over. And audiences seem to love it.”
“I play music because I can’t help it,” Esther says. “Living a simple life in the woods couldn’t cure me of it. I’ve got to communicate this weird and beautiful language to people.”
A dulcimer, a flute, and a voice that echoes the vastness of glacial canyons and the laughter of hidden creeks… a weird and beautiful language indeed.
