Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird ( born July 11, 1973 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American singer- songwriter and musician. He completed his classical training on the violin to his musical repertoire also includes guitar, mandolin, whistling, and glockenspiel. His early work was heavily influenced by American folk and jazz tradition, in recent publications he approached the pop music of what made him a wider audience.
- 2.1 Quotations
- 3.1 with Andrew Bird 's Bowl of Fire
- 3.2 Solo
- 3.3 Live
- 3.4 EPs and singles
Life and work
Bird started at the age of four years to learn the violin - playing by the Suzuki method and completed his violin studies at Northwestern University in 1996 with a Bachelor from. In the same year he released his solo album "Music of Hair".
Andrew Bird 's Bowl of Fire ( 1997-2001 )
Published in 1997 Bird " Thrills ", his first album with the band " Andrew Bird 's Bowl of Fire ," whose bandleader he was. Kevin O'Donnell played on drums, Josh Hirsch on bass guitar and Colin Bunn on guitar. In 1998, he released the album " Oh! The Grandeur ". Both albums represent the violin at the center and are based on the traditions of folk, blues and jazz from the first half of the 20th century. The debut album " Thrills " stand in the tradition of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, it'll take bonds of Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli and Fats Waller, according to a review by Allmusic. It was recorded in just five days in New Orleans - the band played the songs in echo of the early American jazz live in a single, centrally postiertes a ribbon microphone.
The second album retains this style largely in, even "Oh The Grandeur " gives the impression of having been recorded in a single take.
The third release of the formation appeared in 2001 with the title " The Swimming Hour". The folk aspect occurs in the background, the music mixes different styles and provides a " journey through the musical history of the 20th century " dar.
Solo career (since 2003)
In 2003, Bird published his first solo album titled " Weather Systems ". He left for his former label Rykodisc, joined the indie Leabel Grimsey ( the later in the label Righteous Babe Ani Di Franco rose ) and moved from Chicago to the parental farm in northwestern Illinois, where he also has a studio einrichtete. The idea to launch a solo career, he came to own statements, as the atmosphere in the band plummeted due to lack of financial success, more and more and he was forced because terminlicher obligations of the other band members, made an appearance at a pub as support for an Irish folk band to play alone. He brought with him a loop machine and multiplied so on stage the sound of his violin. Bird took a liking to this technique: In " Weather Systems " the violin is therefore the central instrument in the musical style, however, opens the album different influences. Birds experimentation with different genres on the album comes to expression.
Here are some concert tours, including opening for Ani DiFranco. The financial success remains Bird continued to be denied, an important source of income exists for him in it, after the concerts to sell CDs that he buys previously for a special price of my own label.
With the album " Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs " of 2005, he set out in the independent scene of the United States a name. The album continues the genre cross- claim of its predecessor, the production contains many electronic elements as well as a rich instrumentation with guitar, glockenspiel and the characteristic whistling Andrew Bird.
Was released in 2007 the album "Armchair Apocrypha ," which made him known to a wider public for the first time: Renowned media such as The New Yorker, Newsweek and The New York Times took notice of him. Appearances in the late-night broadcasts of David Letterman and Conan O'Brien contributed to the sales of the plate, which sold more than 100,000 copies.
It was followed by a tour of the U.S. and Europe, with Bird - unusual in pop music - at every concert varied the set- sequence; the instrumental arrangements of the songs changed from gig to gig. His biggest concert played Bird in his hometown of Chicago on 3 September 2008 in front of 15,000 spectators.
During the production of his next studio album, " Noble Beast " Bird documented his work on a blog the New York Times. He produced the album for the most part in a beach house in Nashville. It was published in 2009.
" Noble Beast" is by far the poppigste album of the artist. Bird is exploring for the pop atypical ways, which is reflected not only in the experimental forms of mixing electronic and acoustic instruments, but also in production and in the claim. To the song " Oh No " on the album " Noble Beast" has left him a crying child inspired about his own words in an aircraft whose childhood Coping with anxiety and thoughts of escape impressed him. The gejammerte "Oh No " the boy tried to recreate Bird in the play on the guitar.
Influences and reception
In childhood Bird was mainly influenced by classical music. He is one of Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart the most formative influences of his early musical training. In high school he turned away from classical music because he felt it was too static, only read music from Notenblätten. He developed a fondness for Irish and Scottish folk music as well as bluegrass. His first jazz idols were Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, and Fats Waller.
The conclusions drawn by critics musical comparisons are versatile. The press attested Bird parallels to The Magnetic Fields and Lambchop, Thom Yorke, Damien Rice, Tim Buckley or David Byrne.
Quotes
" The musicians from Chicago knows how to write pop hits - he just does not know whether he really wants. It fights the virtuoso with the Popfan and the subtle arranger. "
" It happens a lot in Birds songs, lots of unusual and surprising also, but they are always full of air and space -. Fully and seductive elegance "
"A classically trained musician who makes self- Consciously wordy music, Bird is among Those American musicians who are almost like Victorian children - polite to the point of being seen, and very nearly, not heard. The very opposite of the "complaint rock " that one is Supposed to have once blasted from college dorms, Bird's music is melodic, accomplished and - above all - cheerfully placid ".
Discography
Andrew Bird 's Bowl of Fire
Solo
Live
- 2002: Fingerlings
- 2004: Fingerlings 2
- 2006: Fingerlings 3
- 2008: Live In Montreal
EPs and singles
- 2002: The Ballad of the Red Shoes
- 2005: Sovay
- 2007: Soldier On (EP)
- 2009: Fitz and the Dizzy Spells
- 2009: Anonanimal
- 2012: Break It Yourself