In the Pines by Erik Kriek (very) Special Edition

The original hardback, bound version of In the Pines earned quite a few awards: best graphic novel in The Netherlands and exhibited in the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam as one of the best book productions of the year 2016. This specific edition is for the lovers of the special stuff. This one is different. The book covers are wooden, the text and pictures have been burnt into this wood. The book contains a limited edition signed giclee print and a CD that has been tucked away in the 3-D pines on the inside of the back cover. The story is great, the music a beautiful complement, but this production is a work of art in and of itself.

‘In the pines, in the pines,
Where the sun never shines,
And we shiver
When the cold wind blows’

– American folksong, ca. 1870

In the Pines is a collection of five graphic tales based on murder ballads: traditional songs about a gruesome event, either true or fictional. These are grim stories about unrequited love, crimes of passion, anger, jealousy and greed. The musis is deeply rooted in the American tradition and still new music is being created by artists such as Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle and Nick Cave.

Erik Kriek has loved this music for years. He chose five of his favourite, old and new songs for In the Pines, and reworked them into new, original graphic stories. The lyrics by among others Gillian Welch and Steve Earle, inspired five grim stories about love, treason, life and – of course – death. The artwork breathes the atmosphere of early twentieth-century America. In the vast Appalachian pines, things happen that sometimes best go unseen…

Songs

In the Pines features the following songs:

• ‘Pretty Polly and the Ship’s Carpenter’ (traditional)
• ‘The Long Black Veil’ (Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin)
• ‘Taneytown’ (Steve Earle)
• ‘Caleb Meyer’ (Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings)
• ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’ (Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue)

BONUS: the book includes an audio cd with the five songs from the book, plus the song ‘In the Pines’. The music is perfomed by the Blue Grass Boogiemen, and features Erik Kriek as a vocal artist. In addition, music journalist and USA expert Jan Donkers wrote an essay about the murder ballad in the American musical tradition.