digital press kit 2013 - laura leif
Transcription
digital press kit 2013 - laura leif
MEAN LEIF lucky walker, spirit songs BIO LAURA “MEAN” LEIF is a lady of the badlands, and you can hear them there, tall grasses sprouting from a golden voice box, rough mountains hovering behind. Particularly interested in wildness and inner animals, Leifʼs songs and drawings are insightful, raw and poetic, delivered with both genuine grit and an unrestrained whimsy. A swig of whisky on a rocky hill. Leif plays regularly as both a solo musician and as a collaborator. She is also an artist and an organizer, and often includes dreamy handmade landscapes in her live performances and releases. The projects sheʼs worked on range from a collaboration in Iceland on its landscapes (Sonicwaves, 2013), an improvised jazz and noise composition about outer space (High Performance Rodeo, 2011), and an album of songs composed and performed for gloomy household objects (NoDS residency, 2010). Leif recently toured across North America as part of a road-show put together by “The Believer” magazine, where she shared the stage with indie legend Calvin Johnson (2012). Leif is also responsible for many marvelous and productive projects including Choose Yer Own (a do-it-yourself, community directed festival now in its 6th year), The Local Library (an all-ages music and arts venue), and Imaginary Ordinary (a temporary community arts centre). She believes in magic, messes, and the goodness in all people, including you. Leif is pleased to announce the release of her first solo full length album, “Rough Beasts”, which will be widely available in spring of 2013. “Rough Beasts” is an exploration of the grit and gristle of North America, and of the beasts, both inner and outer, who just keep on trudging, no matter how roughed up. It was recorded in the wilds outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in a rickety garage and in the presence of porcupines, crabapples, two smart small children (not her own), the ocean, an 8 track reel to reel, and virtuoso noisemaker and recording artist Jay Crocker. FACT SHEET Laura Leif [email protected] (587) 707 1889 Hometown: Badlands and Foothills of Alberta Genre: gritty folk wisp Instruments: Voice, ukulele, guitar, elderly keyboards, drums, distortion pedals, and other noisemakers. Releases: Mean Leif -‐ Rough Beasts, forthcoming Laura Leif / Mean Leif -‐ Soothsayer, 2013 Laura Leif and APB -‐ Love Songs For Lamps (in The Believer Magazine’s music issue), 2012 Laura Leif -‐ Warm Weathers 7”, 2010 Laura Leif and Amber Phelps-‐Bondaroff -‐ The Objects of Our Desires, 2010 Laura Leif // Secret Brothers -‐ part one, 2010 The Consonant C -‐ Capes and Crowns, 2008 Laura Leif -‐ Hand Over The Mountain, 2005 Notable Performances: Recent Performances 01/31/13 -‐ 02/02/13 -‐ Sonic Waves: Festival Hall. Calgary, Alberta 01/30/13 -‐ Faktory -‐ Reykjavik, Iceland 08/25/12 -‐ The Hammock Residency -‐ Vancouver, BC 08/23/12 -‐ The Vera Music Project. Seattle, Washington 08/22/12 -‐ The Crystal Ballroom. Portland, Oregon 08/19/12 -‐ Echoplex. Los Angeles, California 08/17/12 -‐ Cafe du Nord. San Francisco, California 08/16/12 -‐ The Observatory. Orange County, California 08/11/12 -‐ Meeps. Washington, DC 08/10/12 -‐ Muchmore’s. Brooklyn, New York 07/28/12 -‐ Soybomb HQ. Toronto, Ontario Past Performances 07/18/11 -‐ What The Heck Fest. Anacortes, Washington 01/11/10 -‐ High Performance Rodeo. Epcor Centre, Calgary 12/12/10 -‐ Calgary Folk Fest Presents: Indie Rock Christmas. Arrata Opera Centre, Calgary 06/23/09 -‐ Sled Island Music Festival. Cantos Music Foundation, Calgary 07/26/08 -‐ The Calgary Folk Music Festival. Prince’s Island Park, Calgary 10/07/08 -‐ POP Montreal. Montreal 04/05/08 -‐ JunoFest. Marquee Room, Calgary Collaborators Jay Crocker, Tyler Los Jones, Woodpigeon, Extra Happy Ghost!!!, Clinton St. John, Brock Geiger, Lucky Sonne, The Summerlad, Morgan Greenwood (Azeda Booth), Chris Dadge and Bug Incision Records, Sandy Castles, Neal Moignard (Knots), Sara Froese, Eric Moscopedis, Jon McKiel and Amber Phelps-‐Bondaroff. Other Projects Choose Yer Own Festival. Calgary, Alberta, 2008 -‐ present By Heart or By Hearsay: amateur film festival. Calgary, Alberta. 2012 -‐ present Culture Club: community engagement project. Toronto, Ontario. 2010 -‐ 2012 The Local Library: all ages art space. Calgary, Alberta. 2009 -‐ 2012 Homework Residency, Broken City Lab. Windsor, Ontario. 2011 Network of Domestic Spaces Residency. Montreal, Quebec. 2010 Imaginary / Ordinary: community centre re-‐imagined. Calgary, Alberta. 2009 Awards and Honors: CADA Event Stimulus Program Grant -‐ Choose Yer Own Festival, 2011 Embridge Award for Emerging Artist – nominee, 2010 Award for Innovation in Community Outreach -‐ The Local Library, 2010 PRESS “Talk about the most underrated of songwriters in Canada. Pioneer Girl of all things vibrant, Laura Leif delivers songs as a sort of throaty, prairie-born Joanna Newsom, where the mean indifference of Toronto is unable to handle her openness, prompting this squamish outflow of ukeleles, guitars and windy voices. The foggy gloom of Nova Scotia, where it was recorded, seems to have infiltrated the tape; Rough Beasts sticks like pinpoints across the Canadian map, like those very pinpricks of Leif’s slight vocal delivery. Legendary curmudgeon Calvin Johnston knows the deal, ’bout time you did.” - Kevin Stebner, Weird Canada. Jan 2013 “[Leif’s band “The Consonant C”] make their focus the pretty things, the gleaming things, lulling lullabies and lovely love songs. And yet — thank goodness — ... [their music] is still rightly haunted, filled with creaks, drones and the singer’s stray syllables. A summer beach with an autumn wind.” - Sean Michaels, The National Post. 2009 “This collection of talents have stolen the hearts of every Calgarian who has happened upon their music... [The Consonant C] represent everything that is right with Calgary’s every-growing music scene, and that is a friendly, talented community of kids who are about to change the way you listen to music.” - Jane McCullough, Calgary Folk Music Festival. 2008 “[Leif’s] performance was personal, sincere, and, most of all, beautiful. It couldn’t have been more perfect.” - Myke Atkinson, FFWD Magazine. 2007