| Mirah — Changing Light (2014) |
Mirah — Changing Light
≡ Indie singer/songwriter with a lo-fi aesthetic that accentuates her wistful voice and intimately personal lyrics.
≡ “[Mirah is] an extraordinary lyricist with a piercing sense of melody and a constant interest in subverting the standards of songcraft and production.” — Amrit Singh, Revolt TV (2014)
Birth name: Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn
Born: September 17, 1974 in Philadelphia, PA
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, piano
Location: Brooklyn, New York City
Album release: May 13th, 2014
Record Label: Absolute Magnitude Recordings
Duration: 43:20
Tracks:
01 Goat Shepherd 3:22
02 Oxen Hope 4:11
03 Turned the Heat Off 3:50
04 Gold Rush 5:21
05 Fleetfoot Ghost 4:13
06 I Am the Garden 4:44
07 No Direction Home 5:04
08 24th St. 4:12
09 LC 3:04
10 Radiomind 5:11
Press:
≡ On her fifth solo album, Mirah breaks it down and builds it back up again with the street smarts that only years behind the wheel of love can inspire. Ready with the maps and driven to the rhythms on the radio dial, Changing Light’s ten songs carry us from heartbreak to wholeness and all the places in between.
≡ Uprooted from her home after a scorching break-up, Mirah spent four years rambling and recording. Tracks were laid down in almost two dozen houses and apartments — from the Northwest to Southern California to the East Coast. Sparse demos were recorded with co-producer Christopher Doulgeris in Portland and Los Angeles. Embellishments were then added by a slew of friends and collaborators, including Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), Mary Timony, Emily Wells, and Heather McEntire (Mount Moriah). In Philadelphia, Mirah and her sister Emily Zeitlyn (Divers) penned “LC,” an homage to childhood inspiration Leonard Cohen. Seattle-based composer Jherek Bischoff drew up intricate string arrangements which were recorded in the living rooms of each individual player. And Tune-Yards producer Eli Crews co-produced several tracks with Mirah in her new hometown of Brooklyn, New York.
≡ Changing Light’s reassuring compass is found in Mirah’s shimmering vocals and incisive descriptions. There is yearning (“Gold Rush” and “Fleetfoot Ghost”) and hot anger (“Goat Shepherd”), but no shortage of lyrical and musical playfulness. Whether it be the T. Rex-inspired rough edges of “Radiomind,” the rollicking lo-fi bang-and-pop of “Goat Shepherd,” or the lush pop balladry of “Turned the Heat Off,” the album corrals string sections and vintage synths with horns, a multitude of guitar tones and overdriven drums. With calm and clamor, Mirah brings us all closer together through her universal honesty and occasional use of the vocoder.
≡ “It’s a break-up record. It has some moments of darkness, some twists and turns , but ultimately, there’s a resolution,” says Mirah. So much can happen in four years, even forgiveness”.
© October 22, 2008; Credit: Kyle Dean Reinford
REVIEW
By Josiah Hughes
≡ Long-running indie performer Mirah has taken a five-year break from solo work, instead focusing on her collaborative project with singer-songwriter Thao. The new release is called Changing Light, and features guest appearances from Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier, Mount Moriah’s Heather McEntire, Mary Timon, Emily Wells and Jherek Bischoff, who provided string arrangements.
≡ Her fifth solo album was recorded in various locations, with production duties split between Eli Crews (tUnE-yArDs, WHY?, the Julie Ruin) and Christopher Doulgeris.
As for the album’s theme, Mirah described it in a press release. “It’s a break-up record,” she said. “It has some moments of darkness, some twists and turns, but ultimately, there’s a resolution.” (http://exclaim.ca/)
_______________________________________________________________
≡ While Mirah has been making independent pop records for well over a decade, Changing Light is the debut release on her new imprint, Absolute Magnitude Recordings.
≡ Mirah’s Changing Light is out May 13th on Absolute Magnitude Recordings with support from K Records.
Artist Biography by Betsy Boyd
≡ Don't Wake Me UpMirah (pronounced mear-rah) — full name Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn — was born on her mother's kitchen table. The daughter of artistic parents, the singer/songwriter had a passion for music from early childhood. While fronting the jazz band the Hot Set in Olympia, WA, playing wedding parties and bar mitzvahs to earn extra cash, Mirah began writing her own brand of lo-fi, slice-of-life indie pop, a style later compared to that of grrrl rocker Liz Phair. Powered only by her guitar and standout singing voice — known around small-town Olympia as the sexiest voice in rock — Mirah performed her own songs under her own name and people took notice. ≡ Phil Elvrum of the psychedelic pop group the Microphones invited Mirah to lend her lilting voice and guitar playing to the Microphones' albums Don't Wake Me Up and Window. She later toured with the band across North America and Canada. Mirah's first full-length solo album, You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This, was released in June 2000 by the K label. Elvrum produced the freshman record, assisting with much of the instrumentation. Yo Yo Recordings released her single-sided album Storageland in 2001. In 2002, Mirah returned to K with the breathtaking Advisory Committee and, with collaborator Ginger Brooks Takahashi, released Songs from the Black Mountain Music Project in summer 2003. The following year was also busy for Mirah: To All We Stretch the Open Arm (which also featured the Black Cat Orchestra) and C'mon Miracle both arrived in 2004. The remix collection Joyride appeared in late 2006, while Share This Place, a concept album about the lives of insects featuring Spectratone International, was released in summer 2007. The following year The Old Days Feeling, a collection of pre-You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This songs with liner notes courtesy of Calvin Johnson, arrived, and Mirah's fourth solo album, (A)spera, which featured production by Elvrum, Tucker Martine, and Adam Selzer, appeared in 2009. In 2011, Mirah teamed up with her friend Thao for the simply named Thao & Mirah.
Discography:
1999 Mirah WM Records
2000 You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This K Records
2001 Advisory Committee K Records
2003 Songs from the Black Mountain Music Project K Records
2004 To All We Stretch the Open Arm Yoyo USA
2004 C'mon Miracle K Records
2006 College Park Is Always Ready to Party morning light records
2006 Joyride: Remixes K Records
2007 Share This Place K Records
2008 The Old Days Feeling Modern Radio Recordings
2009 (A)spera K Records
2014 Changing Light Absolute Magnitude Recordings/K Records
Website: http://www.mirahmusic.com/#pre-order-home
MySpace: https://myspace.com/mirah
European Booking:
Licensing & Publishing: Lauren Rose at Terrorbird:
Label: http://www.absolutemagnituderecordings.com/
Shop K Records: http://shop.krecs.com/
Mirah Press Page: http://terrorbird.com/album/changing-light
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mirahmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirahmusic
_______________________________________________________________
| Mirah — Changing Light (2014) |
≡ Indie singer/songwriter with a lo-fi aesthetic that accentuates her wistful voice and intimately personal lyrics.
≡ “[Mirah is] an extraordinary lyricist with a piercing sense of melody and a constant interest in subverting the standards of songcraft and production.” — Amrit Singh, Revolt TV (2014)
Birth name: Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn
Born: September 17, 1974 in Philadelphia, PA
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, piano
Location: Brooklyn, New York City
Album release: May 13th, 2014
Record Label: Absolute Magnitude Recordings
Duration: 43:20
Tracks:
01 Goat Shepherd 3:22
02 Oxen Hope 4:11
03 Turned the Heat Off 3:50
04 Gold Rush 5:21
05 Fleetfoot Ghost 4:13
06 I Am the Garden 4:44
07 No Direction Home 5:04
08 24th St. 4:12
09 LC 3:04
10 Radiomind 5:11
Press:
≡ On her fifth solo album, Mirah breaks it down and builds it back up again with the street smarts that only years behind the wheel of love can inspire. Ready with the maps and driven to the rhythms on the radio dial, Changing Light’s ten songs carry us from heartbreak to wholeness and all the places in between.
≡ Uprooted from her home after a scorching break-up, Mirah spent four years rambling and recording. Tracks were laid down in almost two dozen houses and apartments — from the Northwest to Southern California to the East Coast. Sparse demos were recorded with co-producer Christopher Doulgeris in Portland and Los Angeles. Embellishments were then added by a slew of friends and collaborators, including Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), Mary Timony, Emily Wells, and Heather McEntire (Mount Moriah). In Philadelphia, Mirah and her sister Emily Zeitlyn (Divers) penned “LC,” an homage to childhood inspiration Leonard Cohen. Seattle-based composer Jherek Bischoff drew up intricate string arrangements which were recorded in the living rooms of each individual player. And Tune-Yards producer Eli Crews co-produced several tracks with Mirah in her new hometown of Brooklyn, New York.
≡ Changing Light’s reassuring compass is found in Mirah’s shimmering vocals and incisive descriptions. There is yearning (“Gold Rush” and “Fleetfoot Ghost”) and hot anger (“Goat Shepherd”), but no shortage of lyrical and musical playfulness. Whether it be the T. Rex-inspired rough edges of “Radiomind,” the rollicking lo-fi bang-and-pop of “Goat Shepherd,” or the lush pop balladry of “Turned the Heat Off,” the album corrals string sections and vintage synths with horns, a multitude of guitar tones and overdriven drums. With calm and clamor, Mirah brings us all closer together through her universal honesty and occasional use of the vocoder.
≡ “It’s a break-up record. It has some moments of darkness, some twists and turns , but ultimately, there’s a resolution,” says Mirah. So much can happen in four years, even forgiveness”.
REVIEW
By Josiah Hughes
≡ Long-running indie performer Mirah has taken a five-year break from solo work, instead focusing on her collaborative project with singer-songwriter Thao. The new release is called Changing Light, and features guest appearances from Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier, Mount Moriah’s Heather McEntire, Mary Timon, Emily Wells and Jherek Bischoff, who provided string arrangements.
≡ Her fifth solo album was recorded in various locations, with production duties split between Eli Crews (tUnE-yArDs, WHY?, the Julie Ruin) and Christopher Doulgeris.
As for the album’s theme, Mirah described it in a press release. “It’s a break-up record,” she said. “It has some moments of darkness, some twists and turns, but ultimately, there’s a resolution.” (http://exclaim.ca/)
_______________________________________________________________
≡ While Mirah has been making independent pop records for well over a decade, Changing Light is the debut release on her new imprint, Absolute Magnitude Recordings.
≡ Mirah’s Changing Light is out May 13th on Absolute Magnitude Recordings with support from K Records.
Artist Biography by Betsy Boyd
≡ Don't Wake Me UpMirah (pronounced mear-rah) — full name Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn — was born on her mother's kitchen table. The daughter of artistic parents, the singer/songwriter had a passion for music from early childhood. While fronting the jazz band the Hot Set in Olympia, WA, playing wedding parties and bar mitzvahs to earn extra cash, Mirah began writing her own brand of lo-fi, slice-of-life indie pop, a style later compared to that of grrrl rocker Liz Phair. Powered only by her guitar and standout singing voice — known around small-town Olympia as the sexiest voice in rock — Mirah performed her own songs under her own name and people took notice. ≡ Phil Elvrum of the psychedelic pop group the Microphones invited Mirah to lend her lilting voice and guitar playing to the Microphones' albums Don't Wake Me Up and Window. She later toured with the band across North America and Canada. Mirah's first full-length solo album, You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This, was released in June 2000 by the K label. Elvrum produced the freshman record, assisting with much of the instrumentation. Yo Yo Recordings released her single-sided album Storageland in 2001. In 2002, Mirah returned to K with the breathtaking Advisory Committee and, with collaborator Ginger Brooks Takahashi, released Songs from the Black Mountain Music Project in summer 2003. The following year was also busy for Mirah: To All We Stretch the Open Arm (which also featured the Black Cat Orchestra) and C'mon Miracle both arrived in 2004. The remix collection Joyride appeared in late 2006, while Share This Place, a concept album about the lives of insects featuring Spectratone International, was released in summer 2007. The following year The Old Days Feeling, a collection of pre-You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This songs with liner notes courtesy of Calvin Johnson, arrived, and Mirah's fourth solo album, (A)spera, which featured production by Elvrum, Tucker Martine, and Adam Selzer, appeared in 2009. In 2011, Mirah teamed up with her friend Thao for the simply named Thao & Mirah.
Discography:
1999 Mirah WM Records
2000 You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This K Records
2001 Advisory Committee K Records
2003 Songs from the Black Mountain Music Project K Records
2004 To All We Stretch the Open Arm Yoyo USA
2004 C'mon Miracle K Records
2006 College Park Is Always Ready to Party morning light records
2006 Joyride: Remixes K Records
2007 Share This Place K Records
2008 The Old Days Feeling Modern Radio Recordings
2009 (A)spera K Records
2014 Changing Light Absolute Magnitude Recordings/K Records
Website: http://www.mirahmusic.com/#pre-order-home
MySpace: https://myspace.com/mirah
European Booking:
Licensing & Publishing: Lauren Rose at Terrorbird:
Label: http://www.absolutemagnituderecordings.com/
Shop K Records: http://shop.krecs.com/
Mirah Press Page: http://terrorbird.com/album/changing-light
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mirahmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirahmusic
_______________________________________________________________