With songs in both English and Spanish, the recently released CD "Branson & Las Munecas - Let the Sky Fall Down - Que Se Caiga el Cielo," displays a musical and emotional maturity far beyond songwriter and singer Branson Skinner's 19 years. Skinner, a first year undergrad at NYU's Gallatin School, and a graduate of Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., grew up in an environment filled with music, and has been writing songs since his early teens.
On most of the CD's 16 cuts, Branson is joined by members of the venerable DC area band, "The Nighthawks," and by Grammy award winning pianist/organist, Jon Carroll. Colombian percussionist and accordionist Jaime Pajaro, and Peruvian singer Laura Sosa, make dynamic contributions to Skinner's Spanish songs, along with Richmond-based drummer, Rocky Orndorff. Branson worked closely with Chris Murphy, the veteran DC-based recording engineer and producer, to create a polished and personal recording that defies genre yet flows from song to song as one album.
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