Angel Olsen

Angel Olsen

Angel Olsen performing at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn, November 12, 2012
Background information
Born (1987-01-22) 22 January 1987
Origin St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Genres Folk, folk rock, indie rock
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 2009–present
Labels Jagjaguwar, Bathetic
Associated acts Bonnie "Prince" Billy and the Cairo Gang, Cap'n Jazz, Wilco
Website www.angelolsen.com

Angel Olsen (born January 22, 1987) is an American folk and indie rock singer and guitarist who was raised in St. Louis, Missouri[1][2] and currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina.[3] She has recorded and toured as a backing singer with Bonnie "Prince" Billy and the Cairo Gang.[4]

After releasing her first EP, Strange Cacti,[5] and a debut album, Half Way Home,[6] on Bathetic Records, Olsen signed with Jagjaguwar[7] ahead of her first full-band record, Burn Your Fire For No Witness,[8] which was released on 17 February 2014.[9][10]

In addition to her work with Bonnie "Prince" Billy and The Cairo Gang, Olsen has collaborated with a number of other notable figures of American indie rock, including Tim Kinsella of Cap'n Jazz and LeRoy Bach of Wilco.[11] Her collaboration with Kinsella and Bach, as well as with Chicago poet Marvin Tate, resulted in the album "Tim Kinsella sings the songs of Marvin Tate by LeRoy Bach featuring Angel Olsen," which the group released on Indianapolis label Joyful Noise Recordings on December 3, 2013.[11]

Early Life


At age three, Olsen was adopted by a foster family that had cared for her since shortly after her birth. The difference in years between her and her parents (now 71 and 83, respectively) left an impression. “Because there are so many decades of difference between us, I became more interested in what their childhood was like,” she says of her parents, both of whom still live in St. Louis. “I fantasized about what it was like to be young in the ’30s and ’50s, more so than other kids my age.”

In an interview with Spin the writer wrote that for Olsen these fantasies "would eventually include a diet of Everly Brothers harmonies and the songs of Skeeter Davis, her mother’s favorites from when she was in her 20s herself. Olsen began singing early, often in the middle of the night when she couldn’t sleep, the sound of her voice waking her parents in the other room. The house was filled with other foster children, she says, with new kids arriving all the time, if only temporarily. She was the last child her parents would adopt. “My mother just has this capacity for children,” she explains. “I think that’s what she always wanted: to be a mother. Me, on the other hand: I don’t know. It’s only recently that I’ve wanted to take care of something, to have a dog, to have a child with someone. In high school, I was never the one who said, ‘I’m going to get a babysitting job.’ I wanted to work in a cool café, not change diapers."”[12]

Discography

As leader

With Bonnie Prince Billy

Other contributions

References

  1. ↑ "Angel Olsen Playlist - Adding Some Glam To The Gloom". Nme.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  2. ↑ Paul Lester. "Angel Olsen (New band of the day No 1,676) | Music". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  3. ↑ http://www.spin.com/featured/angel-olsen-march-2014-cover-story-interview/
  4. ↑ "Interviews: Will Oldham | Features". Pitchfork. 2011-10-10. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  5. ↑ "Strange Cacti 12 EP". Bathetic Records. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  6. ↑ "Half Way Home". Bathetic Records. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  7. ↑ "Angel Olsen". Jagjaguwar. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  8. ↑ Meyler, Gary (2013-11-18). "Alternative music blog with interviews, gig listings and more: The G-Man: New album: Angel Olsen". Thegmanworld.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  9. ↑ "Angel Olsen Breaks Down Her Smoldering New Jagjaguwar Debut". Billboard. 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  10. ↑ Fred Thomas. "Burn Your Fire for No Witness - Angel Olsen | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  11. 1 2 Joyful Noise Recordings. "Tim Kinsella sings the songs of Marvin Tate by LeRoy Bach featuring Angel Olsen". Joyful Noise Recordings. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  12. ↑ "Angel Olsen Will Be Heard | SPIN". Spin. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  13. ↑ Fred Thomas. "Tim Kinsella Sings the Songs of Marvin Tate by LeRoy Bach". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-18.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Angel Olsen.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.