Felice Bro & Chicken Burke: The Duke & The King

THE DUKE & THE KING
NEW DUO FEATURING SIMONE FELICE (THE FELICE BROTHERS) AND ROBERT CHICKEN BURKE
EMERGE WITH SUN-FADED SONGS FOR SUMMER ON NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY (AUG 4/RAMSEUR RECORDS)

On August 4, Ramseur Records will release Nothing Gold Can Stay by The Duke & The King, an album recorded in the coldest Catskill winter, that shimmers with the light of memory and hope. Nothing Gold Can Stay features ten new songs, all co-written by The Duke (Simone Felice of The Felice Brothers) and The King (Robert Chicken Burke), and was recorded on a two-inch tape machine in Burke’s one-room, woodstove-heated cabin – affectionately known as The Chapel – in Woodstock, NY.

The Duke & The King grew out of Simone Felice’s decision to take an extended break from The Felice Brothers at the end of 2008, after three years of non-stop touring. He set to work on his third book, and began writing and recording with his longtime friend Burke, himself on leave from recent stints with Sweet Honey in the Rock, and film scoring work for acclaimed French director Cedric Klapisch.

The two holed up in splendid isolation at The Chapel with a cache of vintage instruments, and emerged with an album of inspired contradictions. Made in the depths of winter, Gold feels sun-faded and warm. It emits a bucolic calm, yet was mixed and mastered in Brooklyn by hip-hop legend Bassy Bob Brockmann (Notorious B.I.G.). Fusing unlikely elements of blue-eyed soul, Topanga Canyon cool, and Marc Bolan-esque acoustic reverie, The Duke & The King sing of a time and place they can never return to, but will never forget.

The Duke & The King will tour extensively this summer and fall. Currently announced tour dates available here.