| St. Vincent — 4AD Sessions EP (2012) |
Photo by Tod Seelie
Photos by Tina Tyrell
St. Vincent – 4AD Sessions EP
Born: Annie Erin Clark on September 28, 1982
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma ~ Dallas, Texas ~ Manhattan
Album release: April 2012
Record Label: 4AD
Genre: Concrete / Indie / Zouk
Runtime: 18:50
Tracklist:
1.) Chloe in the Afternoon 2:57
2.) Surgeon 4:26
3.) Strange Mercy 4:18
4.) Cheerleader 3:31
5.) Year of the Tiger 3:38
Website: www.ilovestvincent.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/stvincent#!
St. Vincent became one of the unexpected success stories of indie rock with the release of her second album, Actor, in 2009; the literate, emotionally intricate songs and rich, beautifully crafted pop melodies made her an immediate hit with critics, but few expected her music to cross over to mainstream acceptance.
In a new 4AD Session, St. Vincent add polish and punch to four tracks from the already brilliant recent album Strange Mercy. Shot at Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s Shangri-La Studios, and directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the footage features performances of “Chloe in the Afternoon”, “Surgeon”, “Strange Mercy”, and “Year of the Tiger”, with Annie Clark’s vocal eccentricities and shredding emphasized high in the audio mix.
Biography by Mark Deming
St. Vincent became one of the unexpected success stories of indie rock with the release of her second album, Actor, in 2009; the literate, emotionally intricate songs and rich, beautifully crafted pop melodies made her an immediate hit with critics, but few expected her music to cross over to mainstream acceptance. However, St. Vincent's beguiling sounds helped Actor rise to number 90 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts, and its follow-up, Strange Mercy, confirmed her new stardom by debuting on Billboard at number 19 in the fall of 2011.
St. Vincent was born Annie Erin Clark on September 28, 1982; she was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and spent most of her childhood in Dallas, Texas. Clark began playing guitar at the age of 12, and she picked up some valuable lessons on the life of a touring musician as a teenager when she joined her uncle Tuck Andress on the road with his popular jazz duo Tuck & Patti. After graduating from high school in 2001, she studied at the prestigious Berklee School of Music, and recorded a self-released, three-song EP with fellow students in 2003, titled Ratsliveonnoevilstar. In 2004, Clark left Berklee and joined the extra-large Baroque pop group the Polyphonic Spree as a guitarist and a singer; she would tour with the band, and appeared on the sessions for their 2007 album The Fragile Army. In 2004, Clark briefly worked with another unusually large group, performing with Glenn Branca's 100 Guitar Orchestra for a recording of one of his avant-garde symphonies. In 2006, Clark left the Polyphonic Spree and joined the backing band of like-minded pop composer Sufjan Stevens. She recorded a three-song EP to sell at her shows with Stevens, on which she adopted the name St. Vincent (inspired by her grandmother as well as the New York hospital where poet Dylan Thomas breathed his last.)
In 2007, Clark stepped out on her own and signed a deal with Beggars Banquet, who released St. Vincent's first full-length album, Marry Me. The album was well received by critics, and in 2009, Clark moved to the celebrated British independent label 4AD for her second album. Teaming with producer John Congleton, St. Vincent's sophomore effort Actor was a musical and lyrical step forward from her debut, and strong reviews coupled with St. Vincent's impressive live performances helped the album rise from the indie ranks into the mainstream charts. In addition to her busy touring schedule, Clark found time to make guest appearances on albums by the Mountain Goats and the New Pornographers, and in 2011, appeared at a special concert paying homage to the pioneering indie rock bands chronicled in Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life where St. Vincent performed a striking version of Big Black's "Kerosene" that earned praise from group founder Steve Albini. In the spring of 2011, Clark was reunited in the studio with producer Congleton, and the third St. Vincent album, Strange Mercy, was released in September 2011.
Musical style:
Clark's music has been noted for its wide array of instruments and arrangements, as well as its polysemous lyrics, which have been described as teetering between "happiness and madness". In response to this, Clark has said, "I like when things come out of nowhere and blindside you a little bit. I think any person who gets panic attacks or has an anxiety disorder can understand how things can all of a sudden turn very quickly. I think I'm sublimating that into the music."
In addition to guitar, Clark also plays bass, piano, and organ, and her music also often features violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, clarinets, and other instruments. Her unorthodox musical style has been characterized by critics as a mixture of chamber rock, pop, indie rock, and cabaret jazz.
As of late 2011, her pedal board includes the following: Korg PitchBlack, DBA Interstellar Overdriver Supreme, ZVex Mastotron Fuzz, Eventide Pitchfactor, Eventide Space, BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter, Moog EP-2 Expression Pedal. All her pedals are controlled by a MasterMind MIDI Foot Controller.
ICA London 2009
© St Vincent at The Button Factory, Dublin / November 13, 2011 / Author: Jamie O´Halleron
| St. Vincent — 4AD Sessions EP (2012) |
Photo by Tod Seelie
Photos by Tina Tyrell
St. Vincent – 4AD Sessions EP
Born: Annie Erin Clark on September 28, 1982
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma ~ Dallas, Texas ~ Manhattan
Album release: April 2012
Record Label: 4AD
Genre: Concrete / Indie / Zouk
Runtime: 18:50
Tracklist:
1.) Chloe in the Afternoon 2:57
2.) Surgeon 4:26
3.) Strange Mercy 4:18
4.) Cheerleader 3:31
5.) Year of the Tiger 3:38
Website: www.ilovestvincent.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/stvincent#!
St. Vincent became one of the unexpected success stories of indie rock with the release of her second album, Actor, in 2009; the literate, emotionally intricate songs and rich, beautifully crafted pop melodies made her an immediate hit with critics, but few expected her music to cross over to mainstream acceptance.
In a new 4AD Session, St. Vincent add polish and punch to four tracks from the already brilliant recent album Strange Mercy. Shot at Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s Shangri-La Studios, and directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the footage features performances of “Chloe in the Afternoon”, “Surgeon”, “Strange Mercy”, and “Year of the Tiger”, with Annie Clark’s vocal eccentricities and shredding emphasized high in the audio mix.
Biography by Mark Deming
St. Vincent became one of the unexpected success stories of indie rock with the release of her second album, Actor, in 2009; the literate, emotionally intricate songs and rich, beautifully crafted pop melodies made her an immediate hit with critics, but few expected her music to cross over to mainstream acceptance. However, St. Vincent's beguiling sounds helped Actor rise to number 90 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts, and its follow-up, Strange Mercy, confirmed her new stardom by debuting on Billboard at number 19 in the fall of 2011.
St. Vincent was born Annie Erin Clark on September 28, 1982; she was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and spent most of her childhood in Dallas, Texas. Clark began playing guitar at the age of 12, and she picked up some valuable lessons on the life of a touring musician as a teenager when she joined her uncle Tuck Andress on the road with his popular jazz duo Tuck & Patti. After graduating from high school in 2001, she studied at the prestigious Berklee School of Music, and recorded a self-released, three-song EP with fellow students in 2003, titled Ratsliveonnoevilstar. In 2004, Clark left Berklee and joined the extra-large Baroque pop group the Polyphonic Spree as a guitarist and a singer; she would tour with the band, and appeared on the sessions for their 2007 album The Fragile Army. In 2004, Clark briefly worked with another unusually large group, performing with Glenn Branca's 100 Guitar Orchestra for a recording of one of his avant-garde symphonies. In 2006, Clark left the Polyphonic Spree and joined the backing band of like-minded pop composer Sufjan Stevens. She recorded a three-song EP to sell at her shows with Stevens, on which she adopted the name St. Vincent (inspired by her grandmother as well as the New York hospital where poet Dylan Thomas breathed his last.)
In 2007, Clark stepped out on her own and signed a deal with Beggars Banquet, who released St. Vincent's first full-length album, Marry Me. The album was well received by critics, and in 2009, Clark moved to the celebrated British independent label 4AD for her second album. Teaming with producer John Congleton, St. Vincent's sophomore effort Actor was a musical and lyrical step forward from her debut, and strong reviews coupled with St. Vincent's impressive live performances helped the album rise from the indie ranks into the mainstream charts. In addition to her busy touring schedule, Clark found time to make guest appearances on albums by the Mountain Goats and the New Pornographers, and in 2011, appeared at a special concert paying homage to the pioneering indie rock bands chronicled in Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life where St. Vincent performed a striking version of Big Black's "Kerosene" that earned praise from group founder Steve Albini. In the spring of 2011, Clark was reunited in the studio with producer Congleton, and the third St. Vincent album, Strange Mercy, was released in September 2011.
Musical style:
Clark's music has been noted for its wide array of instruments and arrangements, as well as its polysemous lyrics, which have been described as teetering between "happiness and madness". In response to this, Clark has said, "I like when things come out of nowhere and blindside you a little bit. I think any person who gets panic attacks or has an anxiety disorder can understand how things can all of a sudden turn very quickly. I think I'm sublimating that into the music."
In addition to guitar, Clark also plays bass, piano, and organ, and her music also often features violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, clarinets, and other instruments. Her unorthodox musical style has been characterized by critics as a mixture of chamber rock, pop, indie rock, and cabaret jazz.
As of late 2011, her pedal board includes the following: Korg PitchBlack, DBA Interstellar Overdriver Supreme, ZVex Mastotron Fuzz, Eventide Pitchfactor, Eventide Space, BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter, Moog EP-2 Expression Pedal. All her pedals are controlled by a MasterMind MIDI Foot Controller.