Tony Kamel

“For artists, a strong sense of place is all but required,” Kamel explains. “But ‘Back Down Home’ represents that reliable, familiar place you can go for comfort, or to escape when everything around you seems unfamiliar and unreliable.” For Houston-born Kamel, it’s the Texas coast. "Back Down Home" is the first full solo-artist album on renowned singer-songwriter and producer Bruce Robison’s the Next Waltz label. In just a few days of no-fuss tracking at the Bunker, Robison’s all-analog studio in Lockhart,Texas, Kamel and several talented contributors crafted an album that fully conveys the down-home vibe its title suggests, as well as the laid-back nature of life on Texas’ Gulf Coast. Kamel leads us through the region in a sonic travelogue that takes us from Texas-imprinted country-folk, old-time and bluegrass styles to Louisiana’s singular stew of Cajun, jazz, funk and other special ingredients. His song titles suggest a loose theme — with occasional side excursions of the sort any wandering traveler (or soul-searcher) might make. We catch Kamel at a crossroads, bargaining with himself about growing up and admitting his fears about growing old (if only he could resist both), but ultimately shrugging off time’s inevitable movement by embracing joy where he can. “In baseball they call it a 5 tool player, person who does everything well. Very rare indeed." Says Robison, "A voice and song that was totally familiar and yet instantly fresh. Glad he left that day job."