Prinz Grizzley Photo credit: Pia Pia Pia
Americana songsmith Prinz Grizzley’s video for his Appalachian dark-folk tale of “Tilda Lee (Processing A Loss)” showcases awe-inspiring Austrian vistas across a mountain lake, beautiful underwater cinematography of a woman floating and sinking as her striking gown circles around her and an underlying Christian iconography is present throughout. The song is told from the perspective of Tilda’s husband after the loss of her teenage child. They both grieve, but not together. She ignores him and turns solely to Jesus, choosing a reliance on God over her family in the aftermath of this tragedy. “Tilda Lee, my wife, my queen, it’s hard but I need you back / Tilda, don’t give up on me, there’s still some life ahead / Tilda, I know, but leave Jesus on that cross and learn to let go,” sings Chris Comper.
“I played ‘Tilda Lee’ at a solo show,” says Comper. “I told the crowd that it’s about a woman who turns to God because her son committed suicide. After the show, from the merch table, I see a woman crying with her husband next to her. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me that that’s what happened to them just a month ago. I knew then that the greater truth behind the song was important. Me and my family didn’t have that happen in our lives, but there’s real emotions in it that I’ve seen and experienced.”
New album Tilda takes elements of dark Appalachian folk and bluegrass. It’s a concept album about the life of Tilda, his grandmother, that’s occasionally bleak and intense with sparks of hope spread throughout. It’s an album that feels like a rainy day, where the fog parts just in time to watch the sunset behind the mountains.
From his Austrian Alps forest home, Chris Comper releases music under the moniker Prinz Grizzley. Comper found indie-rock success with his band Golden Reef (with a brief foray into synth-pop) before going solo as Prinz Grizzley, where he veered into the Americana lane with three critically-acclaimed albums that led to playing festivals around the world like SXSW, AmericanaFest, Folk Alliance International, Kilkenny Roots Festival and Montreux Jazz Festival. He did an entire European/UK tour with Seasick Steve. He’s recorded with Erin Rae, and shared bills with folks like Yola, Tyler Childers, Molly Tuttle, Charley Crockett and many more.
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