Tyler Ramsey and Carl Broemel Offer Guitar Tranquility on a New Collaborative Album, “Celestun”
Story by Jedd Ferris
At the beginning of the year, North Carolina singer-songwriter Tyler Ramsey and Carl Broemel, lead guitarist of My Morning Jacket, released the collaborative album “Celestun.” The two friends met back in 2012, when Ramsey was a member of roots-leaning indie rockers Band of Horses, and the group shared a lengthy tour with MMJ.
Following the road time together, Ramsey and Broemel often discussed making a collaborative album, but they didn’t put the ball in motion until the pandemic, when they found themselves with time to toss song ideas back and forth.
They finally finished those early sketches last year during sessions at Broemel’s home in Nashville. The resulting record has a cozy, homespun vibe, taking inspiration from finger-picking folk heroes like John Fahey and Leo Kottke.
Both Broemel and Ramsey have broad bodies of work that go back decades. In My Morning Jacket, Broemel is largely known for his multi-instrumental prowess, playing electric guitar, pedal steel and saxophone. But he’s also released four solo albums, including the 2016 Americana standout “4th of July,” and collaborated with the psych-country band Futurebirds. Ramsey, an insightful tunesmith, is a longtime fixture in the Asheville, N.C., music scene who did a 10-year stint in Band of Horses starting in 2017. He’s since returned to his solo work, releasing the earthy roots-rock record “New Lost Ages” in 2024.
Together, Broemel and Ramsey take an understated, acoustic approach, with richly layered fret work. Their collaborative album has nine tracks, including a gentle take on Neil Young’s “Sail Away.” There’s also a guest spot from the angel-voiced duo the Secret Sisters, who add chorus harmonies to “Flying Things,” a campfire sing-along about moving past hard times.
The title track is a tranquil instrumental that progresses with discovery like a pastoral walk in the woods, as it showcases the duo’s nimble string interplay.
“We just mesh together in a way that I can’t even really explain,” Ramsey explained in a statement about his work with Broemel. “I feel like there’s some magical connection between our two things, it just makes me smile and satisfies some itch as far as things that I would like to hear on the music that I write. I think he feels the same way about what I do. When I put a part to one of his songs, we both have this feeling like that was exactly what was missing.”
Broemel and Ramsey just finished a brief winter tour supporting the new album. This spring, Ramsey will head to Europe for a slate of solo shows, while Broemel gets back to his day job in My Morning Jacket. The band will headline a night of FloydFest in Southwest Virginia in July.
Three Essential Songs
Tyler Ramsey – “Evening Country”
This plaintive country song, which finds Ramsey ruminating on lonely moments after a breakup, is found on his 2019 solo album “For the Morning.” He also recorded a version with Band of Horses (called “Evening Kitchen”) for the group’s album “Infinite Arms.”
Carl Broemel – “Sleepy Lagoon”
A hazy indie rock tune with an infectious groove, “Sleepy Lagoon” is the lead track of Broemel’s 2016 album “4th of July” and a highlight from his solo catalog.
Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel – “Nevermind”
Another standout from Ramsey and Broemel’s new collaborative album, “Nevermind” is a front porch folk song with nimble fret work about embracing the simple wonders of nature.
