Appearing on The Safety Match Journal:
Brian Standefer (cello, Patty Griffin & Alejandro Escovedo)
Ana Egge (vocals)
Brad Houser (bass, bass clarinet, bass saxophone--New Bohemians and Critters Buggin)
Will Sexton (bass)
Kim Deschamps (pedal steel, banjo--Cowboy Junkies)
Dony Wynn (drums--Robert Palmer)
Steve Moore (Synth, Piano--Laura Veirs)
John Tomasson (bass)
Steve Bernal (cello)
David Chenu (clarinet, sax)
Mat Mollica (B3 organ)
Jon Notarthomas (electric guitar, vocals)
Darwin Smith (electric guitar, vocals, ambiance--Love County, Seela)
Kullen Fuchs (trombone, trumpets, vibraphone, melodica--Ian Moore)
Mellissa Greener (vocals)
Erin Bobruk (vocals--Cluan)
Charles Branch (bouzouki--Cluan)
Roberto Riggio (Violin--Atash_
Travis Weller (Violin)
Produced & Engineered by:
Darwin Smith at Cacophony Recorders (Austin, TX)
Mastered by:
Jim Wilson (Airshow Mastering, Boulder, CO)
Influences
Charles Simic, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Beethoven, Ron Sexsmith, Laura Veirs, Lou Reed, John Cale, Everly Brothers, Kingston Trio, Bob Dylan, Pixies, The Faces, Sam Philips, Paul Simon, Danial Lanois, Brian Eno, Nick Lowe, The Replacements, John Vanderslice, The Recorders, Guided By Voices, Charles Bukowski, Nikos Kazantzakis, Alexis Zorba, Rainer Maria Rilke, Thich Nhat Hanh, Arthur Miller, Franz Kafka, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Alber Camus, The New York Times, Mark Rothko, Alberto Giacometti, nightmares and daydreams.
Sounds Like
Decide for yourself.
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***PURCHASE THE SAFETY MATCH JOURNAL***
The Safety Match Journal Available at www.WaterlooRecords.com (Just so you know, Aimee prefers purchases to be made from Waterloo Records--support independent record stores and album art.)
***PRESS/REVIEWS on THE SAFETY MATCH JOURNAL***
"Ready for radio "Losing the Magic"....Bobruk's at her best when she's like everyone else, only more open and with an atmospheric voice made for both cello and feedback."--Michael Corcoran, Austin American Statesman The Austin American Statesman
"Aimee Bobruk presents a notable debut with The Safety Match Journal. It's something to please Cowboy Junkies fans, given Bobruk's dreamy, Timmins-esque vocal languor and the CJ's Kim Deschamps on steel. Bobruk's songwriting recently left the folk-pop cocoon and tries out its muted-color wings with gorgeous instrumentation and a flutter of hesitancy...Bobruk brims with potential and plenty of time to test the waters."--Margaret Moser, The Austin Chronicle The Austin Chronicle
***BIOGRAPHY***
The last thing Bobruk and producer Darwin Smith wanted to do with The Safety Match Journal was make another singer-songwriter record. Yes, Bobruk writes her own songs, and sings them too, but for the Huntsville, Texas, native now dwelling in Austin, that’s as far as it goes.
“Neither Darwin nor I wanted this record to sound predictable,” she says. “I approached Darwin with full trust and gave him complete freedom to explore arrangements, sounds, and textures– our intention was to uproot my songs from ‘genres’ like ‘folk’ and ‘rock.’”
Bobruk and Smith employed some interesting strategies to upend those staid classifications and give The Safety Match Journal its fresh sound. At Cacophony Recorders (Darwin Smith’s and Eric Wofford’s studio) Smith used a wide array of non-traditional instruments - an old doorbell and hubcap rims dipped in water – against more orchestral instruments like the bass clarinet and cello to embellish Bobruk’s poetic, heartfelt songs. Then Smith took it a step further, using studio alchemy like tracking speed and unconventional processing to subtly alter the finished tracks. The result is a canvas of lush, textured, and ambient arrangements.
The next phase of their plan was recruiting several of Austin’s top musicians to bring Bobruk’s compositions to life: former New Bohemians Brad Houser and John Bush; Cowboy Junkies alum Kim Deschamps; Alejandro Escovedo and Patty Griffin cellist Brian Standefer; acclaimed singer-songwriter Ana Egge; and Austin music scene mainstay Will Sexton, to name a few.
The Safety Match Journal includes the first song Bobruk ever wrote, “Dulcinea.” Like several other songs on the album, it reflects her deep interest in literature; other literary touchstones for the album are Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree, Homer’s Odyssey and Sinclair Lewis’ Babbitt. Bobruk is equally inspired by visual art. “I think musicians often work in terms of visuals,” she says. “For me, when I write, it’s as if a movie is playing in my mind. I don’t know exactly where it’s going or what it’s about, but my song comes from putting words to the images.”
“Liverpool,” “Fools For Love,” “Here She Comes,” and “Puppets at Play” demonstrate a more pop sensibility in her writing and address the universal emotions of frustration and heartache. Juxtaposed with nostalgic lullabies like, “For the Lost Airwaves” and “Blessing,” as well as the roots based “Precious Jesus,” Bobruk’s writing covers a broad range of topics and themes. Here are a few of the album’s inspirations, in her own well-chosen words:
“Shores of Gold”: “I think of some of the sounds we achieved as resembling a sort of exotic jungle. I also hear what reminds me of recorded whale cries. I imagine diving deep into the ocean to be confronted by beautiful monsters.”
“Losing the Magic”: “The spoken word combined with intention is very powerful. I do at times fear handing over this energy, but at the same time, there is a sense of excitement that accompanies sharing a cherished idea/wish/dream.”
“First Move”: “It’s a reaction to the American people’s apathy at the beginning of the Iraq war. Protesting, warning people of what certain actions could lead to, speaking out while armed with well-crafted rhetoric is the only way citizens can protect themselves against injustice and destruction without resorting to violence. The last verse about the Triton [the deep-sea messenger] and his people who are ‘choking on flames’ is a reference to the island of Fira and a lost civilization – the volcano erupted with no warning.”
The Safety Match Journal is a window into the thoughts of what some people call an old soul, and for someone still in her mid-twenties, releasing her debut album, Aimee Bobruk is no newcomer. In 2006, Bobruk took the prize in the “Mountain Town Stages: Slopeside Serenade” songwriting contest in Utah and opened for the legendary Dr. John. More recently, her song “For the Lost Airwaves,” which appears on the The Safety Match Journal, was used in the 2007 documentary Team Everest: A Himalayan Journey.
Introducing herself to Austin with 2005 EP Small Town Girl, Bobruk quickly became a featured songwriter by Central Texas DJs like KUT’s Teresa Ferguson (Femme FM), KOOP’s Sandra Beckmire and Rick Star of Fredericksburg’s KFAN (“Rebel Radio”). She’s shared the stage with the likes of Butch Hancock, Alejandro Escovedo and David Garza. And for the past year, Bobruk has held down a Tuesday-night residency at Austin’s The Scoot Inn, where her performance and her songs have held their own against many of Austin’s most talented musicians: Ian Moore, Robert Harrison (Future Clouds and Radar), Michael Fracasso, Will Sexton, Andrew Duplantis (Son Volt), Joe Reyes (Buttercup), Jane Bond, and Ethan Azarian.
And this is just the beginning. Bobruk wants her fans, both the present and future varieties, to know there’s plenty more where The Safety Match Journal came from.
“This album is one of many expressions to come,” she says. “My perspective will remain completely unique to me, but as far as the sound around it, I’m interested in exploring new boundaries.”
Saw you were online and am enjoying Fools For Love very much. School is going great and I have another show in Baton Rouge in May. Busy. Hey, you're doing great!
This album has a few of the danger signs of wispy singer-songwriter music. The spelling of the first name. The word “journal” in the title. The “Chicks with Picks” song sessions this Huntsville native has hosted since moving to Austin a couple years ago. The album cover shows Bobruk with the body of a bird.
But “The Safety Match Journal,” so texturized with unique musical ideas, finds Bobruk and producer Darwin Smith veering from Lilithian expectations. With “Fools For Love” bringing “vo-de-oh-doe” to modern times, “Dulcinea” dripping in dreamy lust, and shards of guitar scratching the melody of “First Move,” the album gets a little close to the edge of too-weird.
But the stunning, ready-for-radio “Losing the Magic,” the most singer-songwriterly song on the album, ties all the loose ends together.
With the slow-strumming “Precious Jesus” and LP closer “Shores of Gold” other highlights, Bobruk’s at her best when she’s like everyone else, only more open and with an atmospheric voice made for both cello and feedback.
Join this 26-year-old to celebrate the release of an album that sounds like it took several months to produce, Tuesday at the Cactus Cafe. You just might find the magic. — Michael Corcoran
hey Aimee, i had to Scoot out on Tues eve for an early Wedn,..you and Darwin sounded great...really cool songs...'til next time....ROCK!... btw-it's organic tangerita season (Nov-Jan) at my house, so yA'll should come on over sometime...out for now 'til then...peace, craigers
Yum Yum! When do I get to see this new package, hmmmm? Miss you face, sweetness. I just finished an 8 month sojourn in the studio on 3 different projects I was producing, and this is one of those. Have a residency at The Continental in December. Gonna have sword swallowers, belly dancers, contortionists, etc. Big time fun and wackiness. Meanwhile, hope all is fine and good in the Bobruk village. Look forward to the next time I get to be seated behind a very nice derriere making some cool music. N'est ce pas? Toodles... -wdw2
heya! haven't seen ya in a while... just wanted to say hello. i'm going to bonnaroo again this year, by myself! my friends cant go anymore, but no way i'm backing out hehe... it's been too long since i've seen you! :D
I don't think I ever apologized for blowing salmon chunks all over your face. I'm SOOOOO sorry about that. You probably think I'm a real deuchebag huh.
Hey Aimee:
Just saying hey. Hope all's well with ya and ask your man for me if I can work sometime soon, & throw me a bone cause I'm flat broke;)
Gracias para tu musica. KT
