Reed Turchi’s Time is a Flat Circle is built on the idea that time loops back on itself: the outward push (the centripetal) is imagined, while the real force (the centrifugal) pulls us back again. Recorded live at Rosa’s Lounge in Chicago, the album arrives April 10, with a limited run of 100 deluxe 12″ vinyl copies to follow.
The album traces that arc back to his own history, from childhood memories tied to Chicago’s Rosa’s Lounge to performing on that same stage decades later. Turchi first visited Rosa’s as a listener, watching Willie Hall back DuWayne Burnside — “a sight so transcendent I wrote a poem about it, which ended up published in POETRY Magazine and which — perhaps you guessed by now — was published the same week of my concert at Rosa’s Lounge.”
Songs revisited, reworked, and set back into motion. This idea finds a natural entry point in “Special Rider,” premiering exclusively here. First recorded by Skip James nearly a century ago, the song carries its own lineage, but Turchi meets it in motion rather than at a distance.
Influence comes through in the track: a guitar structure where small shifts are big gestures, and at the center, Turchi’s vocal. A slight, natural, gospel-like vibrato carries special weight without pushing the performance beyond itself. From Skip James’ original to Reed Turchi’s interpretation, “Special Rider” has traveled decades, players, and continents, yet this version doesn’t separate those layers.
As Turchi tells us:
‘Special Rider,’ in our interpretation, emphasizes that music, as well as time, exists in a circle of influence. Originally recorded (to the best of my knowledge) by Skip James one hundred years ago, this arrangement is heavily influenced by the version I learned from Adriano Viterbini — who is a phenomenal guitarist based in Rome, Italy, and who I have had the pleasure of touring with and learning from.
Adriano plays guitars from a number of West African musicians (Bombino and Rokia Traore to name a few), and he created this sort-of “desert blues” feel for “Special Rider.” I learned it from him about a decade ago, and in the years and touring sense have continued to develop it in my own ways (yet another trip across the Atlantic Ocean), and now, with this quartet, it has found the form that you hear today.
So, a hundred years old and a handful of trips around the world? We’re just doing our best to give voice to the same old song.
Reed Turchi is a musician, poet, and producer from Swannanoa, North Carolina, now based in Brooklyn. His work has earned a GRAMMY Award and Emmy nominations, reflecting a career that spans performance, recording, and literary pursuits. Across all of it, he brings a keen sense of listening, responsiveness, and emotional depth to everything he does.
