Amy DenioCountry of origin:U.S. Type of music generally:An evocative/eclectic mix of experimental noise & vocals, with elements of jazz, rock, world music: tangos, waltzes, you name it Status:Most recent album, Pandemonium (2021) See also:Amy Denio's official site Comparisons:Highly individual. Strange and wonderful vocals like Iva Bittová, Meredith Monk, Anna Homler, and strange and wonderful music like Caveman Shoestore. (Neile) Covers/own material:Own, some co-written songs, some traditional material General comments:Experiments in combining sounds. Overall fascinating mix of instruments and voice. She's an edgy/experimentalish performer/musician/singer. She's been in Seattle a long time and has been a member of a lot of great groups from the punk/experimental tone dogs ("When Bush Was Head of the CIA" is their best known song) to the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet and sang on one album with the band, Curlew. She's a multi-instrumentalist. Her music is great and energetic and I'm continually amazed at the growls and buzzes and soaring descants she can swing her voice through. Her music can range from edgy rock songs and some tango-y things on the accordion. Delightful. I highly recommend her solo discs for those who like strange experimentalish stuff that is still recognizable as rock songs. Well, mostly. Her work with other groups is wonderful, too, but there's a lot of it—I'm sure her discography is fascinating but chaotic reading. (Neile) Comments about live performance:She's energetic and inventive and can fill any hall—even solo. I've seen her outside. She filled that hall, too. (Neile) Recommended first album:Greatest Hits might be a good starting place so you can find out what part of her career you might want to delve into more deeply. My personal favourites are Birthing Chair Blues and Tongues. (Neile) Recordings include:See her website for a more complete discography.
Birthing Chair BluesRelease info:1991—spoot/Knitting Factory Works, 47 East Houston Street, New York, NY 10012, U.S.A.—KEWCD-111 Availability:Available in the U.S. Ecto priority:Highly recommended for fans of experimental vocals and rock Group members:Amy Denio—"fretted and fretless bass, electric and slide guitar, voices galore, alto sax, harmonica, alto recorder, bass mbira, popping bass calloused thumb joint and PZM mic, dishwasher, washing machine, low-fi Audion organ and the dreaded drum machine, all going in various directions at various speeds. Featuring dB's great grandmother's wind-up stuffed Bear on Lullabye." Produced by:Amy Denio Comments:The list of instruments says nearly everything that needs to be said, except this is wonderful to listen to, and even catchy. Don't let the experimental nature of this music make you think it's difficult to listen to—it's not, and in fact if you're at all tolerant of edgy music you'll find it stuck in your head—lots of musical hooks here to keep you listening. (Neile) tonguesRelease info:1993—FOT Records, P.O. Box 505, Bloomingdale, IL 60108, U.S.A.—FOT AD1 Availability:U.S. stores that carry indie releases Ecto priority:Highly recommended for fans of experimental rock Group members:Amy Denio—accordion, vocals, Proteus programming, alto sax, 12-string & electric guitars, accordion drone, Alessis SR16 programming, slide/distorted/drone & other bass, Yamaha SY22 program Guest artists:Marjorie de Muynck—mandolin, backing vocals, Tusk Tom suggestions, soprano sax, "vibes" solo Comments:Weird and wonderful. Stuff. "Salvatore" will stick in my ears for years. Amy Denio plays with her voice in ways no one else has even thought of. (Neile) Greatest HitsRelease info:1999—Unit Circle/Spoot Music—19324 26134 Availability:Mail order Ecto priority:Highly recommended for anyone with a taste for the unusual Group members:Amy Denio—bass string harmonics, voice, guitars, alto sax, bass drum, cymbals, snare, hubcaps, noise percussion duet, bass, 12-string guitar, drum programming, slide guitar,drone loop, accordion, chinese accordion, bamboo flute, hand claps Guest artists:various Comments:This includes four Tone Dogs songs, a Curlew song from the album she sang on, seven tracks from her solo recordings, one (EC) Nudes track, one Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet track, three Pale Nudes tracks, one FoMoFlo track, and one Die Knödel track, so it obviously spans a great deal of her career and shows the range of her talent. If you don't have Amy Denio's individual albums, you must get this one. A good sampler of her unique career. (Neile) Further info:Write: Spoot Music, P.O. Box 85154, Seattle, WA 98145, U.S.A., email mydenio @ earthlink . net. |
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