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The 404 386: Where we get lost in the dream
It's Wilson's turn again to choose The 404 semiweekly audio draft sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive and CNET News and Reviews 5000, so naturally we're a little skeptical (but not nearly as skeptical as we are about the moon landing), but Mr. Tang comes through again with the beautiful music of Priscilla Ahn, a young singer-songwriter with a light, ethereal voice that drifts through the layered atmosphere of her acoustic folk melodies.
In this sentimental tune, country singer-songwriter Chely Wright (she of the 1999 hit song "Single White Female") muses about a river that can give life and take it away.
Jose Gonzalez: "Down the Line"
With his crystal-clear singing voice and vibrant, classically-inspired playing, Jos? Gonz?lez is one of today’s most remarkable artists – testament to the irrefutable power of one man and a guitar. His debut album 'Veneer' captured his magical sound in its purest state, simply beautiful and beautifully simple. Touching on a remarkable array of influences, from folk to classic pop to a dazzling spectrum of world music, 'Veneer' touched audiences across the globe. Originally released in Sweden on Imperial Recordings in 2003 and on Hidden Agenda in North America in 2005, 'Veneer' was re-issued in the US on Mute Records in 2006. In September 2007 Gonz?lez will release his sophomore album, the highly anticipated 'In Our Nature' (released in the US on Mute). 'In Our Nature' sees Gonz?lez coming into his own as a songwriter – with songs that are as instantly accessible as they are brimming with darkness and brooding intensity.
Hailing from Martha's Vineyard, MA, Mason is all of 20 years old and already an extraordinarily accomplished singer-songwriter. Mixing the blues, folk and country traditions of John Lee Hooker, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash with the spirit of politicized punk rock, Mason forges a sound all his own, at once incisive, ramshackle and timeless.
White Rabbits come to NYC via the arid plains of the Mid West. Although they have been in The City for just over a year they have, in that sort interval, managed to catch the attention of Say Hey Records and producer Chris Zane (Calla, Asobi Seksu, Les Savy Fav) with their stellar songwriting ability and instrumental aplomb. Lead by dual vocalists, Greg Roberts (Guitar / Vox) and Steve Patterson (Piano / Vox), the 6 piece is rounded out by Alex Even (Guitar / Vox), Adam Russell (Bass), Matt “The Duck” Clark (Drums) and Jamie Levinson (Percussion). With a certain joie de vive, playfulness and charm White Rabbits thematically evoke the more decadent and bygone era of days spent on the green, old cinemas “Tourist Trap”, tragic mothers “Navy Wives”, and restrained, but no less awkward domestic disputes, with the first single, “The Plot”.
KT Tunstall: "Black Horse and The Cherry Tree"
KT Tunstall is a sparkling new songwriter with Chinese blood, a Scottish heart, great legwarmers and a cool name ? ?well, it?s got a bit more attitude than Kate which just says farmer?s daughter to me,? she laughs. KT celebrates classic singer-songwriting in the tradition of Rikki Lee Jones, Carol Kingand Fleetwood Mac with an articulate, accessible, immediate brew of rootsy sass, wistful quandary and after-hours atmosphere. The latest in a line of outstanding contemporary Scottish songwriters including Texas, Fran Healy, Teenage Fanclub and The Beta Band, KT?s unique perspective offers a rare emotionally connecting intensity through it?s gripping lyrical bite and heartfelt melody. Her debut album ?Eye To The Telescope? is the creative consequence of that inquiring imagination. ?My songs examine and explore little specific emotions or situations or stories,? she explains. ?They?re kitchen table songs, like a conversation between me and one other person. It?s almost like an alien has been sent to get emotional samples from human beings and put it all together on a record.? Since completing ?Eye To The Telescope?, life has been a blur of gigs, first as support to Joss Stone, then a tour of Europe, singing with ?klezmer hip-hop? band Oi Va Voi, who ignited the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury. ?It was blazing sunshine and I went on in a turquoise neck muff, glamorous dress and muddy boots and just had the best gig, really emotional. I?ve had emails from people saying that they cried. They promised it wasn?t the drugs.? Now KT is raring to channel all her infectious energies into her own music. ?I?m not exactly sure what has driven me so hard,? she says. ?I?ve never questioned it. I?ve never had a back-up plan. I was never going to do anything else.?
Like the cold, listless months of autumn, Gravenhurst evokes images of dark skies in the afternoon and a feeling of melancholy. By shining a warm, soft light over its gentle acoustic songs, though, Gravenhurst makes the impending gloom seem comforting.
Over the past decade, New York City's Ida has mapped their own space in the American underground music scene, defying easy categorization with unpredictable, emotionally charged, frequently memorable live shows, and a series of distinctly voiced records. Driven by three strong singer songwriters and telepathic musicianship, Ida has never accepted the straitjacket of resting on their accomplishments. Whether playing and singing quieter than Joao Gilberto in his living room, or blasting full volume ecstatic guitar noise, Ida embraces a broad template of musical ideas- from acoustic chamber pop, old time folk, and free improvisation to minimalist drones, shimmering harmonies, Krautrock ambience, and bad Prince covers. Throughout it all, Ida has remained a steadfast pillar in the independent community, collaborating with numerous individuals from well respected bands, organizing and playing benefits for a wide array of political and artistic causes, and running their own record label, Last Affair. Ida formed in 1992 as a duo when fellow Brooklynites Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton began writing songs together. They soon enlisted friend and upright bassist Rick Lassiter to join them. The trio recorded the Songs from the Ranch tape that winter on their 4-track, and began playing shows in New York City. When a copy of the tape fell into the hands of Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thompson, owners of the staunchly independent and highly influential Simple Machines label, the two offered to put out Ida's debut full-length. In Spring 1994 at Excello Recording in Williamsburg Brooklyn, Ida recorded Tales of Brave Ida a collection of hauntingly beautiful love songs and ambient instrumentals. When Lassiter moved back to North Carolina, Daniel's brother Miggy (White Magic, Blood on the Wall) joined the band as drummer and multi-instrumentalist. Ida hit the road on their first tour opening for Tsunami. Tales of Brave Ida received enthusiastic reviews, eliciting comparisons to the forceful, somber sounds of the Velvet Underground and Nick Drake. Ida had arrived. The following year, Daniel began touring extensively with Liquorice, a 4AD band he founded with Jenny Toomey. Despite a relatively slow year on the Ida front, the band released a 7" on Simple Machines and wrote the songs that would make up their next album. On the first day of the Blizzard of '96, Ida literally dug their way into the studio to record their second full-length, I Know About You. The addition of Miggy on drums brought spartan, pensive rhythms that added a powerful new dynamic to Ida's quietly intense sound. Lassiter's string arrangements and the contributions of Daniel and Miggy's sister Cecilia on violin and viola, brought new layers of dissonance and sonic depth to the recording. That spring Ida toured nationally with Steve Immerwahr (Codeine) on bass and Elaine Ahn on cello. In the fall, Beekeeper bassist/vocalist Karla Schickele joined as permanent bass player for Ida just in time for their second full U.S. tour. 1997 brought constant touring as well as the band's third full-length, Ten Small Paces. The album was a scrapbook of sorts, nestling five covers from songwriters as diverse as Bill Monroe and Brian Eno between ten original tracks. Recorded in various stops while on tour (including a recording session with His Name Is Alive mastermind Warren Defever), the album exuded a loose, offhand "mixtape" feel that perfectly suited the warmth and intimacy of the group. These qualities helped make it one of the band's most beloved albums. Ida toured the first of several tours with the band Low, and began touring regularly with genius violinist Ida Pearle (Ted Leo, Magnetic Fields, William Parker). In Fall 1997, knowing the end of Simple Machines as a label was near, Ida signed with Capitol Records. In 1998, Ida released two EPs including The Ida Retsin Family, Volume One a collaboration with Tara Jane O'Neil (Rodan) and Cynthia Nelson (Ruby Falls, the Naysayer). Additionally, Liz, a former teacher at Roosevelt Island Day Nursery in NYC, recorded a critically acclaimed children's album of old time acoustic folk songs. Shortly thereafter, Ida entered the studio to record Ida's Capitol debut. It was the first time Ida had entered the studio with a recording budget. The Capitol album Will You Find Me was completed in May 1999. However some significant changes had taken place at Capitol Records since Ida's signing -the president was fired and the entire staff was replaced by robots- and the band spent the next six months in limbo. Ida realized that even though they had completed (recorded, mixed and mastered) one album, they had actually recorded enough songs for two full-length LPs on Capitol's dime. Ida eventually won back ownership of their Capitol master tapes. Miggy left the band in the fall of 1999. For their fall 1999 tour, Ida got quieter than ever with an ambitious 6-piece acoustic ensemble, including woodwinds and strings. Several of the shows were part of a series of benefit concerts for Low Power Radio and the grass roots movement to save community-based radio from the dominance of corporate radio stations and media consolidation. They released Insound Tour Support: Ida Live At Carnegie Hall, an 18-song live document, culled from performances at The Anthology Film Archive in NYC, a live WFMU broadcast, a raucous Derby show in Louisville KY and many stops along the road. In 2000, Ida found a new label home with New York's Tiger Style Record who released Will You Find Me. The release was named album of the week by Jon Pareles in the New York Times, August 18, 2000, and named among the year end "best of" lists in both Spin, and the New York Times. The quieter the band got, the more people seemed to pay attention. The band spent the year touring with various ensembles including longtime member Ida Pearle, original drummer Miggy Littleton and newer collaborators Trip Gray (Joe Morris Trio), Zach Wallace (Flashpapr), Dave Curry (Willard Grant Conspiracy, Thalia Zedek), Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, Flashpapr), Jacob Danziger (Flashpapr), Andrew Hall (The Moonlighters, Sparklehorse), and Amy Domingues (Threnody Ensemble). They toured with Pedro the Lion, Low, Shannon Wright, and Julie Doiron. A year later, Tiger Style released The Braille Night, the second of the Capitol-era albums which aptly re-created the intimacy and magic of Ida's live performances. The Braille Night served as a fitting companion piece to Will You Find Me, the perfect ending/beginning of a new century for the band. In the years since the release of The Braille Night, Daniel and Liz took time away from Ida's intense touring schedule to raise their daughter, Storey. They also released two childrens records, and an electro-acoustic duo called Nanang Tatang. Daniel toured Japan and recorded as a solo piano/harmonium/guitar singer songwriter. He also recorded and toured in Italy as an improviser/noisemaker with Geoff Farina (Karate, Secret Stars). Karla toured and performed as K., releasing two records on Tiger Style and a split EP with Low, and doing a dreamy stint as Low?s guest keyboardist opening for Radiohead in Europe. When Tiger Style went on hiatus in February 2004, Ida again found themselves without a label, after having completed a new record. After talking with the folks at Polyvinyl Records, Ida knew they had found the perfect label to help them to exist, and to put out their new record, Heart Like a River. This record marks a period of renewed creativity for the band including collaborations with longtime Ida co-conspirators Cecilia Littleton and original bassist Rick Lassiter as well as violinist Jean Cook (Jon Langford, The Beauty Pill) and cellist Dominique Davison (Threnody Ensemble). Heart Like a River also marks the first time the band has collaborated with producer/engineer Warren Defever on an album from start to finish. After a long touring hiatus, Ida will again return to the road this winter, with Jean Cook on violin and new drummer Ruth Keating (K, The Malarkies). Heart Like a River will be released February 22, 2005.
Over the past decade, New York City's Ida has mapped their own space in the American underground music scene, defying easy categorization with unpredictable, emotionally charged, frequently memorable live shows, and a series of distinctly voiced records. Driven by three strong singer songwriters and telepathic musicianship, Ida has never accepted the straitjacket of resting on their accomplishments. Whether playing and singing quieter than Joao Gilberto in his living room, or blasting full volume ecstatic guitar noise, Ida embraces a broad template of musical ideas- from acoustic chamber pop, old time folk, and free improvisation to minimalist drones, shimmering harmonies, Krautrock ambience, and bad Prince covers. Throughout it all, Ida has remained a steadfast pillar in the independent community, collaborating with numerous individuals from well respected bands, organizing and playing benefits for a wide array of political and artistic causes, and running their own record label, Last Affair. Ida formed in 1992 as a duo when fellow Brooklynites Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton began writing songs together. They soon enlisted friend and upright bassist Rick Lassiter to join them. The trio recorded the Songs from the Ranch tape that winter on their 4-track, and began playing shows in New York City. When a copy of the tape fell into the hands of Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thompson, owners of the staunchly independent and highly influential Simple Machines label, the two offered to put out Ida's debut full-length. In Spring 1994 at Excello Recording in Williamsburg Brooklyn, Ida recorded Tales of Brave Ida a collection of hauntingly beautiful love songs and ambient instrumentals. When Lassiter moved back to North Carolina, Daniel's brother Miggy (White Magic, Blood on the Wall) joined the band as drummer and multi-instrumentalist. Ida hit the road on their first tour opening for Tsunami. Tales of Brave Ida received enthusiastic reviews, eliciting comparisons to the forceful, somber sounds of the Velvet Underground and Nick Drake. Ida had arrived. The following year, Daniel began touring extensively with Liquorice, a 4AD band he founded with Jenny Toomey. Despite a relatively slow year on the Ida front, the band released a 7" on Simple Machines and wrote the songs that would make up their next album. On the first day of the Blizzard of '96, Ida literally dug their way into the studio to record their second full-length, I Know About You. The addition of Miggy on drums brought spartan, pensive rhythms that added a powerful new dynamic to Ida's quietly intense sound. Lassiter's string arrangements and the contributions of Daniel and Miggy's sister Cecilia on violin and viola, brought new layers of dissonance and sonic depth to the recording. That spring Ida toured nationally with Steve Immerwahr (Codeine) on bass and Elaine Ahn on cello. In the fall, Beekeeper bassist/vocalist Karla Schickele joined as permanent bass player for Ida just in time for their second full U.S. tour. 1997 brought constant touring as well as the band's third full-length, Ten Small Paces. The album was a scrapbook of sorts, nestling five covers from songwriters as diverse as Bill Monroe and Brian Eno between ten original tracks. Recorded in various stops while on tour (including a recording session with His Name Is Alive mastermind Warren Defever), the album exuded a loose, offhand "mixtape" feel that perfectly suited the warmth and intimacy of the group. These qualities helped make it one of the band's most beloved albums. Ida toured the first of several tours with the band Low, and began touring regularly with genius violinist Ida Pearle (Ted Leo, Magnetic Fields, William Parker). In Fall 1997, knowing the end of Simple Machines as a label was near, Ida signed with Capitol Records. In 1998, Ida released two EPs including The Ida Retsin Family, Volume One a collaboration with Tara Jane O'Neil (Rodan) and Cynthia Nelson (Ruby Falls, the Naysayer). Additionally, Liz, a former teacher at Roosevelt Island Day Nursery in NYC, recorded a critically acclaimed children's album of old time acoustic folk songs. Shortly thereafter, Ida entered the studio to record Ida's Capitol debut. It was the first time Ida had entered the studio with a recording budget. The Capitol album Will You Find Me was completed in May 1999. However some significant changes had taken place at Capitol Records since Ida's signing -the president was fired and the entire staff was replaced by robots- and the band spent the next six months in limbo. Ida realized that even though they had completed (recorded, mixed and mastered) one album, they had actually recorded enough songs for two full-length LPs on Capitol's dime. Ida eventually won back ownership of their Capitol master tapes. Miggy left the band in the fall of 1999. For their fall 1999 tour, Ida got quieter than ever with an ambitious 6-piece acoustic ensemble, including woodwinds and strings. Several of the shows were part of a series of benefit concerts for Low Power Radio and the grass roots movement to save community-based radio from the dominance of corporate radio stations and media consolidation. They released Insound Tour Support: Ida Live At Carnegie Hall, an 18-song live document, culled from performances at The Anthology Film Archive in NYC, a live WFMU broadcast, a raucous Derby show in Louisville KY and many stops along the road. In 2000, Ida found a new label home with New York's Tiger Style Record who released Will You Find Me. The release was named album of the week by Jon Pareles in the New York Times, August 18, 2000, and named among the year end "best of" lists in both Spin, and the New York Times. The quieter the band got, the more people seemed to pay attention. The band spent the year touring with various ensembles including longtime member Ida Pearle, original drummer Miggy Littleton and newer collaborators Trip Gray (Joe Morris Trio), Zach Wallace (Flashpapr), Dave Curry (Willard Grant Conspiracy, Thalia Zedek), Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, Flashpapr), Jacob Danziger (Flashpapr), Andrew Hall (The Moonlighters, Sparklehorse), and Amy Domingues (Threnody Ensemble). They toured with Pedro the Lion, Low, Shannon Wright, and Julie Doiron. A year later, Tiger Style released The Braille Night, the second of the Capitol-era albums which aptly re-created the intimacy and magic of Ida's live performances. The Braille Night served as a fitting companion piece to Will You Find Me, the perfect ending/beginning of a new century for the band. In the years since the release of The Braille Night, Daniel and Liz took time away from Ida's intense touring schedule to raise their daughter, Storey. They also released two childrens records, and an electro-acoustic duo called Nanang Tatang. Daniel toured Japan and recorded as a solo piano/harmonium/guitar singer songwriter. He also recorded and toured in Italy as an improviser/noisemaker with Geoff Farina (Karate, Secret Stars). Karla toured and performed as K., releasing two records on Tiger Style and a split EP with Low, and doing a dreamy stint as Low?s guest keyboardist opening for Radiohead in Europe. When Tiger Style went on hiatus in February 2004, Ida again found themselves without a label, after having completed a new record. After talking with the folks at Polyvinyl Records, Ida knew they had found the perfect label to help them to exist, and to put out their new record, Heart Like a River. This record marks a period of renewed creativity for the band including collaborations with longtime Ida co-conspirators Cecilia Littleton and original bassist Rick Lassiter as well as violinist Jean Cook (Jon Langford, The Beauty Pill) and cellist Dominique Davison (Threnody Ensemble). Heart Like a River also marks the first time the band has collaborated with producer/engineer Warren Defever on an album from start to finish. After a long touring hiatus, Ida will again return to the road this winter, with Jean Cook on violin and new drummer Ruth Keating (K, The Malarkies). Heart Like a River will be released February 22, 2005.
Weird and visceral singer-songwriter Scout Niblett cuts right to her emotional core and exposes the mess as is. Her fearless approach is unencumbered by musical boundaries--and to a certain extent musical ability--resulting in an awkward yet rewarding listen.
