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27 posts tagged Sufjan Stevens
Cat Martino not only spent the past year collaborating with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Sharon Van Etten, and Doug Keith, but she found time to complete a stunning sophomore solo record as well. Yr Not Alone is a soulful, gorgeously enigmatic set — complete with surprising arrangements, inspired melodies, and multi-textured meanings that reward and unfurl with each repeated listen. In short, this record belongs on the same estimable shelf as recent efforts by the aforementioned collaborators you may have heard. In light of the glowing response we received to the LP’s title track, we’ve reached out for more information on the recording process, collaborating with Sufjan, her influences, and more. Give “Yr Not Alone” another spin while reading our Q&A with Martino below:
Cat Martino ft. Sufjan Stevens - “Yr Not Alone”
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Stream: Cat Martino ft. Sufjan Stevens - “Yr Not Alone”
Odds are you’ve already heard Cat Martino’s ethereal voice, as the NYC singer-songwriter has been performing live and recording over the past year with Sharon Van Etten (e.g., “Love More”) and Sufjan Stevens. This week, in fact, we saw her join the National’s Bryce Dessner for an intimate set on Soundcheck. Now Martino will take center stage with her sophomore LP, Yr Not Alone, a multi-textured collection of looped sonic landscapes that boast memorable, soulful vocal melodies conjured from a truly unique concoction of influences. In short, this set recalls Sufjan’s effects-laden experimentation of late while managing to remain completely her own. Hear the pair collaborate on the title track — recorded on a stormy night amid the woods of Pennsylvania — above.
Sufjan Stevens – “Futile Devices” (Live on WNYC)
In addition to performing the final act to The Age of Adz closer “Impossible Soul” for WNYC’s Soundcheck this week, Sufjan, the National’s Bryce Dessner, Cat Martino, and friends played a moving, intimate live version of opening track “Futile Devices” (via fuckyeahsufjan). Grab the Kleenex box and watch their heartfelt take above.
Sufjan’s “Get Real Get Right” Video
In which Sufjan Stevens directs and animates the second stop-motion official clip from his beautifully cathartic The Age of Adz, featuring original artwork from the LP’s inspiration: Royal Robertson.
Video: MAKE Doc Preview, Ft. Music by Sufjan Stevens & Others
Not only did Sufjan Stevens use artwork by the self-proclaimed prophet Royal Robertson for the cover of his latest LP, The Age of Adz, but Robertson’s life also inspired stories within the music itself, as Sufjan has been discussing at length along numerous tour stops and in interviews. Specifically, directors Scott Ogdon and Malcolm Hearn’s documentary MAKE, a film about four disabled artists finding their most effective expression through art, first introduced Robertson’s work to Sufjan. Now his label, Asthmatic Kitty, are releasing the doc on DVD, complete with an original soundtrack by Stevens, Her Space Holiday’s Marc Bianchi, and Takka Takka’s Craig Montoro, as well as songs by Au Revoir Simone, Jim Guthrie, Oneida, and Tommy Guerrero.
Today, you can pre-order the film here and catch an extensive, 17-minute preview of MAKE thanks to IFC above.
Last fall, On Joyful Wings announced a Sufjan Stevens-approved covers album featuring new renditions of all the songs off Stevens’ brilliant 2004 LP Seven Swans by Bonnie “Prince” Billy, DM Stith, the Gregory Brothers (of Auto-Tune the News fame), Carl Hauck, Inlets, and eight others. Now the album, Seven Swans Reimagined, is available to pre-order on Bandcamp with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Before the record arrives next Tuesday (pre-orders come with an immediate download of Inlets’ take on “Borderline” and a full album download a few days before the release), you can preview Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s gorgeous take on “All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands” with Meg Baird, Emmett Kelly, Ben Boye, Van Campbell, Sabrina Rush, and Danny Kiely below. Purchase the album/contribute to a great cause here and check out our exclusive stream, alongside a quote from Will Oldham on Seven Swans, after the jump.
Folks like Jonny Greenwood and Trent Reznor better guard their film scoring game as I’m just one listen in to Sufjan Stevens’ moody, experimental soundscapes with Gaspar Claus and this 30-minute collection is just begging to complement a movie project. As La Blogotheque points out, the pair composed, improvised, and recorded three lengthy tracks, wonderfully titled “Alien Vs. Predator”, “Invalid skin”, and “Romance Cave”, last year. Now Claus has uploaded the entire set to Official.fm for all to enjoy and stream here.
In other Sufjan news, the Sydney Opera House are offering an excellent consolation prize to those that missed out on recent Age of Adz tour dates: 3 professionally filmed videos of his performance at the Sydney Festival. Watch the HQ footage here (via Pitchfork) or preview the YouTube version of Sufjan and friends playing “Too Much” below:
This week may have already brought us the first listen to Sufjan Stevens, the Dessner brothers, and Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry’s holiday album, Gloria! Songs for Christmas Vol. VI, but Sufjan isn’t done unveiling Christmas collaborations just yet: Sounds Familyre Records announced the release of the 3rd volume in their A Familyre Christmas series recently, which includes tunes by Dan Zimmerman, Ben + Vesper, Lenny Smith, and a wonderful recording of the song “Up On The Housetop” by Sufjan and Vesper Stamper.
While the entire 14-track compilation is available as a free download on Bandcamp, Sounds Familyre asks that you consider purchasing Volume 1 or 2 of their past holiday efforts to help offset the cost of offering the new record for free. So stream those comps at the links above and give “Up On The Housetop” a spin below:
The National’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner stopped by BBC 6 with Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry on Friday, spinning a couple dozen tunes and discussing their past collaborations. Most notably, the trio took the seasonal opportunity to finally share a pair of long-lost Christmas songs — “Silent Night” and “Barcarola” — they recorded with mutual BFF Sufjan Stevens a few years back.
While we’ll have to wait for the rest of the EP to reach our ears (Rawkblog says there are 8 songs in total), CoS points to radio rips of the aforementioned gems posted on the fuckyeahsufjanstevens Tumblr over the weekend. Hear them at the links above or streaming below:
*Update: The entire EP is now streaming here.
I’m thrilled to see that Will Oldham, aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy, has covered the opening track, “All The Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands,” for a new tribute to Sufjan Stevens’ 2004 album Seven Swans, dubbed Seven Swans Reimagined, but one name on the 15-song record jumped out as a particularly pleasant surprise: The Gregory Brothers.