Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s from singer/songwriters in the indie rock community showing heavy influences from folk music scenes of the 50s, 60s and early 70s, country music, and indie rock.^[1]

A few early artists included Lou Barlow, Beck, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith. The genre is commonly related to freak folk, psych folk, Baroque pop and New Weird America.^[1] The genre saw a significant growth from the early 2000s to present, beginning with bands such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Bright Eyes, Iron & Wine, Beirut, The Avett Brothers, Arthur & Yu, The Decemberists,^[1] Okkervil River, Manel, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Mumford & Sons, and others.

Other notable artists include Avalanche City, Band of Horses, Bon Iver,^[1] The Head and the Heart, Geppetto & The Whales, Frank Turner, Fleet Foxes,^[1] Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Blind Pilot, Blitzen Trapper, Bison, Dawes, Delta Spirit, Deer Tick, Middle Brother, Boy & Bear, Adam Green, Alexi Murdoch, Alina Orlova, Andrew Bird, Basia Bulat, Bishop Allen, Damien Jurado, Paleface, Gary Jules, Graham Coxon, Devendra Banhart, Fanfarlo, Feist, First Aid Kit, Dan Mangan, Ewert and The Two Dragons, Fink, Jinja Safari, Joanna Newsom, José González, Kings of Convenience, Lisa Hannigan, Little Wings, M. Ward, Hayden, Sea Wolf, The Low Anthem, The Shins, Vetiver, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Cave Singers,^[1] Bowerbirds, The Middle East, Sufjan Stevens, Horse Feathers, Great Lake Swimmers,^[1] The Giving Tree Band, Blind Pilot,^[1] Radical Face, Loch Lomond,^[1] Fruit Bats, Other Lives, Emmy the Great, Noah and the Whale, Or, The Whale,^[1] Wye Oak, Ben Howard, Andrew Jackson Jihad, The Civil Wars, Two Gallants, Johnny Flynn, The Acorn, Freelance Whales, Woods, Dog Is Dead, Seabear, Bombay Bicycle Club, Dry The River, Nick Harper, Mindy Gledhill, Peter and the Wolf (band) and The Ely Plains.

References[link]

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The Tallest Man on Earth
Background information
Birth name	Kristian Matsson
Born	(1983-04-30) 30 April 1983 (age 29)
Origin	Leksand, Dalarna, Sweden
Genres	Folk, Indie
Years active	2006 – present
Labels	Gravitation, Dead Oceans
Associated acts	Montezumas
Website	tallestmanonearth.com

Kristian Matsson (born April 30, 1983) is a singer-songwriter from Dalarna, Sweden. Since 2006, he has released three full-length albums and two EPs. He performs under the moniker The Tallest Man on Earth. He is known for recording and producing his own records in whichever home he is currently living and states that the connection between his voice and guitar is so strong, he rarely records them as separately tracked performances. ^[1]He is also known both by critics and his fans for his charismatic stage presence.^[2][3] Matsson is married to fellow Swedish singer-songwriter Amanda Bergman, who performs under the moniker Idiot Wind. The couple have toured extensively together, often performing songs together on stage. He has toured with Bon Iver.^[4] Matsson also fronted the band Montezumas.

Critics have compared The Tallest Man on Earth to Bob Dylan both in terms of songwriting ability and vocal style.^[5][6][7] When asked about his lyrical style, The Tallest Man on Earth explains that he began listening to Bob Dylan at fifteen, and upon hearing Dylan's cover material, he "tried to figure out where those songs came from" and became slowly exposed to early American folk, such as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. But he is careful to qualify this, say "I don't consider my work to be a part of any tradition. This is how I play. This is how I write songs"^[8]

With regards to his guitar technique, Matsson uses a variety of open tunings, and to a lesser degree standard tuning. He had classical guitar training in his youth, but says he "never really focuses on it" and that by the end of high school he "got bored playing guitar because it was like math"^[9], until he then discovered open tunings while listening to Nick Drake in his early twenties. He was drawn to this style of playing because it allowed him to focus on singing while still performing intricate music. ^[10]

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

• Shallow Grave (2008)
• The Wild Hunt (2010) UK chart peak: #180^[11]
• There's No Leaving Now (2012)^[12]

EPs[link]

• The Tallest Man on Earth (2006)
• Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird (2010)

Singles[link]

• The Gardener
• The King of Spain; The Wild Hunt
• Pistol Dreams
• The Dreamer
• Weather of a Killing Kind
• 1904

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Tallest Man on Earth

• Official website
• Artist page for The Tallest Man on Earth at NPR Music.

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Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird with violin, 2009
Background information
Born	(1973-07-11) July 11, 1973 (age 38) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Indie rock, indie folk, folk rock, baroque pop
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Voice, whistling, violin, guitar, glockenspiel
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Rykodisc, Righteous Babe, Fat Possum, RCRD LBL, Bella Union, Earwig Music, Waterbug, Carrot Top, Delmark, Mom+Pop
Associated acts	Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Kevin O'Donnells Quality Six, Dosh
Website	andrewbird.net

Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.

History[link]

Early life and the Bowl of Fire (1973–2002)[link]

Trained in the Suzuki method from the age of four,^[1] Bird graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1991 and Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in violin performance in 1996. That same year he self-released his first solo album, Music of Hair. Vastly different from his later work, this album showcased his violin skills and paid tribute to his fascination with both American and European folk traditions, as well as jazz and blues. Following this, his initial commercial exposure came through collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers, appearing on three of their albums (Hot, Sold Out, and Perennial Favorites) between 1996 and 1998.

Taking on the role of bandleader, Bird released Thrills on Rykodisc in 1997 with his group Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, shortly followed by second album Oh! The Grandeur in 1998. Both albums were heavily influenced by traditional folk, pre-war jazz, and swing, with Bird relying on the violin as his primary musical instrument, as well as providing vocals along with his trademark verbose lyrics. The Bowl of Fire featured musicians from Bird's home town of Chicago, including Kevin O'Donnell, Joshua Hirsch, Nora O'Connor, Andy Hopkins, Jimmy Sutton, Colin Bunn, and Ryan Hembrey. During this period, Andrew Bird was a member of the jazz group Kevin O'Donnells Quality Six, for which he was the lead singer and violinist and contributed to arrangements and songwriting for the albums Heretic Blues (Delmark 1999) and Control Freak (Delmark 2000) (both Delmark albums were produced by Raymond Salvatore Harmon).

In 2001, the Bowl of Fire released their third album, The Swimming Hour, a dramatic departure from their previous recordings. It featured a mixture of styles, from the zydeco-influenced "Core and Rind" to more straightforward rock songs such as "11:11". Due to this eclectic nature, Bird has often referred to it as his "jukebox album". Although gaining critical praise (The Swimming Hour received a 9.0 from indie music website Pitchfork^[2]), the band failed to attain commercial success or recognition, playing to audiences as small as 40 people.^[3] In 2002, Bird was asked to open for a band in his hometown of Chicago, but fellow Bowl of Fire members were unavailable for the date. The reluctant Bird performed the gig alone, and the surprising success of this solo show suggested potential new directions for his music.^[3]

Early solo career (2003–2005)[link]

Andrew Bird in concert 2005

The Bowl of Fire unofficially disbanded in 2003, and Bird went on to radically re-invent himself as a solo artist. His two subsequent albums were released on Ani Difranco's Righteous Babe Records label. 2003's Weather Systems (originally released on Grimsey Records) was a sparse record with a dramatic change in musical direction. It featured the tracks "Skin" and "I", proto-versions of songs that would later become "Skin Is, My" (The Mysterious Production of Eggs) and "Imitosis" (Armchair Apocrypha).

The Mysterious Production of Eggs (2005) continued a progression towards an eclectic indie–folk sound, and both records formed a stark stylistic break with Bird's earlier work, swapping the lush backing of a full band for carefully layered samples of sound constructed using multitrack recorders and loop pedals. As his sound changed, Bird made increasing use of guitar, glockenspiel, and whistling in his songwriting, in addition to his traditional violin and vocals.

Bird is noted for improvising and reworking his songs during live performance, as can be seen in his series of self-released live compilations entitled Fingerlings, Fingerlings 2, and Fingerlings 3, the first of which was released in 2002. Each Fingerlings EP was released prior to a studio album, and presented a mixture of live performances from different shows, including old tracks, covers, and previously unreleased songs, some of which have since appeared on studio albums. Fingerlings 3, released in October 2006, also featured studio outtakes. Fingerlings 2 provided Bird with an unexpected boost in recognition in 2004 when it was named album of the month by Mojo.^[1]

In 2005, co-collaborator Martin Dosh joined Bird's line-up, adding percussion and keyboards to his sound.^[1] Jeremy Ylvisaker was later added to the group on bass and backup vocals.

Signed to Fat Possum Records (2006–2011)[link]

Bird performing at the 2007 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

In September 2006, Bird signed to Fat Possum Records, and in March 2007 he released his third post-Bowl of Fire album, Armchair Apocrypha.^[4] The album was recorded in collaboration with electronic musician Martin Dosh, and includes a track composed by Dosh (with lyrics by Bird) entitled "Simple X". This song first appeared without Bird's lyrics as "Simple Exercises" on Dosh's 2004 release Pure Trash. The album was produced by Ben Durrant (who had worked on Dosh's The Lost Take), and also featured Haley Bonar and Chris Morrissey.^[5] In advance of the March release date, Armchair Apocrypha was leaked to the Internet in January 2007. The album went on to sell over 100,000 copies.^[1]

As publicity for Armchair Apocrypha, Bird made his network television debut on April 10, 2007, performing "Plasticities" (from the new album) on the Late Show with David Letterman. He also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on June 14, 2007, performing "Imitosis" from the same album. In April 2007, he did a Take-Away Show acoustic video session shot by Vincent Moon. These appearances were accompanied by an extensive tour, which ended with sell-out performances at the Beacon Theater, New York and the Orpheum Theater, Los Angeles.^[1]

In January 2007, Andrew Bird made an appearance on the Noggin television network's Jack's Big Music Show, playing the part of Dr. Stringz and appearing in order to mend a character's broken dulcimer. Bird sang a brief song called "Dr. Stringz", written specially for the show. He now often plays it live as an introduction to the song "Fake Palindromes".^[6][7]

On May 20, 2007, National Public Radio aired a live concert by Bird from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club^[8] He also worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for his 2007 spring tour.^[9]

Five of his songs – "Banking on a Myth" from "The Mysterious Production of Eggs," a medley of "I" from Weather Systems and "Imitosis" from "Armchair Apocrypha," and "Skin" and "Weather Systems" from Weather Systems – have been licensed for use by Marriott Residence Inn.^[10]

Since March 2008, Bird has contributed to "Measure for Measure,"^[11] a New York Times blog in which musicians write about their songwriting process. In it, he has charted the development of the song "Oh No," previewing samples at various stages of development through to the finished album recording. He also discussed the conception of the song "Natural Disaster," the recording of instrumental piece "Hot Math," and previewed "Master Sigh." The first two songs were later released on Bird's 2009 album "Noble Beast," whilst the latter two appeared on its bonus disc "Useless Creatures."^[12]

In December 2008, Bird appeared in the second series of Nigel Godrich's From the Basement alongside Radiohead and Fleet Foxes. His performance included a preview of new song "Section 8 City," a ten minute re-imagining of "Sectionate City," which originally appeared on the "Soldier On EP."^[13]

Bird's fifth solo album, "Noble Beast," was released on January 20, 2009, and contained fourteen new songs, with bonus tracks available for download from iTunes and eMusic. "The Privateers" is a re-imagining of a very early song entitled "The Confession" from 1999's "Oh! The Grandeur."^[1] A limited deluxe edition of the album included alternate packaging and artwork, as well as an all-instrumental companion disc entitled "Useless Creatures." The entirety of "Useless Creatures" was made available via Bird's website during the run-up to the release. "Noble Beast" has been met with generally favourable reviews, receiving a score of 79 out of 100 from review collation site Metacritic.^[14]

In 2009, Bird contributed a cover of the song "The Giant of Illinois" to the HIV and AIDS benefit album "Dark Was the Night" produced by the Red Hot Organization. On May 11, 2009, Bird released the EP "Fitz and the Dizzy Spells." It contains "Fitz and the Dizzyspells" from "Noble Beast," as well as other songs from that album's recording sessions. Some of the songs on the EP were previously available for download from iTunes and eMusic as bonus tracks to "Noble Beast."

In 2010, Bird recorded with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, contributing vocals and violin on a cover of "Shake It and Break It" on "Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program."

Andrew Bird currently uses custom-made Schroeder amplifiers.^[15]

Break It Yourself (2011–present)[link]

In late 2011 Bird signed to the record label Mom+Pop. Andrew Bird's first release for the label was the soundtrack to the film Norman, which included his original score as well as songs by other artists.^[16] Bird sequenced the soundtrack to flow as a stand-alone album rather than a compilation of music from the film.^[16] Its music supervisor, Peymon Maskan, told HitQuarters: "The best compliment I've heard is that without having seen the film, you can imagine it by listening to the soundtrack. The sequence is a big part of that effect."^[16]

On December 6 Bird announced a new album Break it Yourself, the follow up to 2009's Noble Beast.^[17]

Influences[link]

Growing up, Bird was surrounded by classical music. As a child, he was interested in Irish tunes and bluegrass. He also cites English and Scottish folk music as an early influence.^[18] His early jazz influences were Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, and Fats Waller.^[19][20] He has also had a number of classical influences such as Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Bela Bartok.^[21] Other influences included jazz, swing, calypso, and folk. Bird has stated that, at 22, he found a lot of indie rock and pop music repetitive and boring, but now understands it better.^[22]

Discography[link]

Bowl of Fire albums[link]

• Thrills (1998)
• Oh! The Grandeur (1999)
• The Swimming Hour (2001)

Solo albums[link]

• Music of Hair (1996)
• Weather Systems (2003)
• & the Mysterious Production of Eggs (2005)
• Armchair Apocrypha (2007, Fat Possum) #76 US
• Noble Beast (2009, Fat Possum) #12 US
• Break it Yourself (2012, Bella Union [UK]; Mom+Pop [US]) #10 US, #46 CAN

Companion album[link]

• Useless Creatures (2010) (bonus disc to Noble Beast)

Live albums[link]

• Fingerlings (2002, Grimsey Records)
• Fingerlings 2 (2004, Grimsey)
• Fingerlings 3 (2006, Grimsey)
• Live at Austin City Limits Music Festival 2007: Andrew Bird (2007, Austin City Limits Music Festival)
• Live In Montreal (2008, Bella Union)
• Fingerlings 4 (2010, Wegawam Music Co.)

EPs and singles[link]

• The Ballad of the Red Shoes (2002)
• Sovay (2005, Fargo Records) – single
• Live at Bonnaroo Music Festival (2006, Live at Bonnaroo Music Festival) – Live EP
• Soldier On (2007) – European tour EP
• Fitz and the Dizzy Spells (2009)
• Anonanimal (2009) – Download only single
• Fake Conversations (2012) – 2011 Tour Live EP

Other album appearances[link]

• Kiltartan Road – Joy to the Morning (1995)
• Kat Eggleston – Outside Eden (1996, Waterbug Records)
• Lil Ed and Dave Weld with The Imperial Flames – Keep On Walkin' (1996, Earwig Music)
• Andrew Calhoun – Phoenix Envy (1996, Earwig Music)
• Charlie Nobody – Soup (1996)
• Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hot (1996, Mammoth Records)
• Squirrel Nut Zippers – Perennial Favorites (1998, Mammoth)
• Rose Polenzani – Dragersville (1998, The Orchard)
• Pinetop Seven – Rigging the Toplights (1998)
• Extra Virgin – Twelve Stories High (1999)
• Kevin O'Donnell – Heretic Blues (1999, Delmark Records)
• Andrew Calhoun – Where Blue Meets Blue (1999, Waterbug)
• Sally Timms – Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments for Lost Buckaroos (1999, Bloodshot Records)
• Squirrel Nut Zippers – Bedlam Ballroom (2000, Hollywood Records)
• The Blacks – Just Like Home (2000, Bloodshot)
• The Handsome Family – In the Air (2000, Carrot Top Records)
• Devil in a Woodpile – Division Street (2000, Bloodshot)
• Kevin O'Donnell – Control Freak (2000 · Delmark Records)
• Neko Case – Canadian Amp (2001)
• The Verve Pipe – Underneath (2001, RCA Records)
• Jenny Toomey – Antidote (2001, Misra Records)
• Kelly Hogan – Because It Feel Good (2001, Bloodshot)
• Sinister Luck Ensemble – Anniversary (2002, Perishable Records)
• Abandon Jalopy – Mercy (2002)
• WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 – On Air Performances – "Core and Rind" (2002)
• Kristin Hersh – The Grotto (2003)
• The Autumn Defense – Circles (2003, Arena Rock Recording Co.)
• Bonnie 'Prince' Billy – Sings Greatest Palace Music (2004, Drag City)
• Bobby Bare, Jr. – From the End of Your Leash (2004, Bloodshot)
• Nora O'Connor – Til the Dawn (2004, Bloodshot)
• Ani DiFranco – Knuckle Down (2005, Righteous Babe Records)
• My Morning Jacket – Z (2005, ATO Records)
• Bobby Bare – The Moon Was Blue (2005, Dualtone Music Group)
• Emily Loizeau – London Town (in French and English) (2006)
• Dosh – The Lost Take (2006, anticon.)
• Candi Staton – His Hands (2006, Astralwerks)
• Magnolia Electric Co. – The Black Ram (2007, Secretly Canadian)
• KFOG Live From the Archives Volume 14 – (2007)
• Song of America – "How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down On the Farm" (2007, Split Rock Records/Thirty One Tigers)
• Charlie Louvin – "Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs" (2008, Tompkins Square)
• Todd Sickafoose – "Tiny Resistors" (2008, Cryptogramophone)
• Dosh – Wolves and Wishes (2008, anticon.)
• Final Fantasy – Plays to Please (2008, Blocks Recording Club)
• Dianogah – Qhnnnl (2008, Southern Records)
• Loney, Dear – Dear John^[23] (2009)
• Dark Was the Night – "The Giant of Illinois" (Red Hot Organization, 2009)
• Live at KEXP Vol.5 – Oh No (2009)[5]
• Thao with the Get Down Stay Down – Know Better Learn Faster (2009, Kill Rock Stars)
• Dosh – Tommy
• Twistable Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to Shel Silverstein – The Twistable, Turnable Man Returns (2010, Sugar Hill Records)
• Muppets: The Green Album – "Bein' Green" (2011, Walt Disney Records)
• Norman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2011, Mom + Pop Music)
• The Muppets: Original Soundtrack – "The Whistling Caruso" (2011, Walt Disney Records)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andrew Bird

• Official site

Kurt Vile
Vile performing at Roskilde Festival 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Kurt Vile
Born	1980
Origin	Lansdowne, PA[1]
Genres	Rock, heartland rock, roots rock, lo-fi, indie rock
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Vocals/Guitar/Trumpet/Banjo/Keyboard
Labels	Matador Records
Associated acts	The War on Drugs

Kurt Vile (born 1980) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, signed to Matador Records as a solo artist in May 2009.^[2] Vile is a founding member of The War on Drugs.

His music has been likened to that of Bruce Springsteen.^[3] His influences include Fleetwood Mac, John Fahey, Bob Dylan and FM Rock generally.^[4] His first album for Matador Records is titled Childish Prodigy.^[5] In an interview with Women's Wear Daily, Sonic Youth bassist and singer Kim Gordon was asked, "Your guilty pleasure right now?" Gordon replied, "Listening to Kurt Vile's latest CD, Childish Prodigy. Guilty because I listen to it too much..."^[6]

Vile released two previous solo albums, God Is Saying This To You and Constant Hitmaker, on Mexican Summer and Woodsist, respectively. He plays solo shows as well as shows with a backing band called The Violators,^[2] which at times includes former The War on Drugs bandmate Adam Granduciel.

Vile's "He's Alright" is featured during the credits of Eastbound & Down in the second season's finale. Vile was chosen by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that they curated in May 2011.^[7]

Discography[link]

Solo[link]

Albums

• Constant Hitmaker (2008, Gulcher Records; 2009, Woodsist Records)
• God Is Saying This to You (2009, Mexican Summer)
• Childish Prodigy (2009, Matador Records)
• Smoke Ring for My Halo (2011, Matador Records) US chart: #154

EPs

• Fall Demons 7" EP (2009, Skulltones)
• The Hunchback 12" EP (2009, Richie Records)
• Square Shells 12" EP (2010, Matador Records)
• So Outta Reach 12" EP, Digital EP (2011, Matador Records)

Singles

• He's Alright 7" single (2009, Matador Records)
• In My Time 7" single (2010, Matador Records)

The War on Drugs[link]

Albums

• Wagonwheel Blues (2008)
• Slave Ambient (2011)

EPs

• Demo EP (2005)
• Barrel of Batteries (2007)

References[link]