Andrea Wittgens (lead vocals, keyboards)
She is lucky to get to collaborate with many talented musicians including:
Vincent Gates (guitar)
Johnny Sangster (guitar)
Jeff Blancato (bass and guitars)
Joel Grow (bass)
Kevin Emerson (drums and backup vocals)
Kelly Paletta (drums)
Jimm McIver (backup vocals)
Influences
in no particular order...Aimee Mann, Rufus Wainwright, Tori Amos, Astor Piazzola, Carole King, J.S. Bach, Gillian Welch, The Shins, The Beatles, Duke Ellington, Sigur Ros, Bjork, Ella Fitzgerald, Tom Waits, Anita O'Day, Bartok, Madonna, Queen, Stravinsky, Thelonius Monk, Elliot Smith, XTC, Fiona Apple, Ray Charles, Mozart, Stevie Wonder, U2, Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Bill Evans, Nina Simone, Neko Case, k.d. lang, Radiohead, Martin Sexton, Death Cab For Cutie, Wayne Horvitz, Bill Frisell, The Police, Feist, Steven Bernstein, Gershwin, Sarah Vaughn, Coldplay, Bonnie Raitt, Pallestrina, REM, Sloan, Annie Lennox, Billy Joel, Jessica Williams, Jill Scott, Joni Mitchell, Martha Wainwright, Peter Gabriel, Tom Petty, Prince, Shawn Colvin,
MIDWEST RECORD – CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 10, 2009
ANDREA WITTGENS / In the Skyline: You want to know what it is you dig about Wittgens and her music but can’t put your finger on it? Suppose Lisa Loeb had something to back it up beside the glasses and the short dress. Got it? Witty and engaging singer/songwriter brings to bear on the weighty things that weigh today’s young people down, but she veers toward how to escape from it as opposed to just kvetching about it. Certainly one of those low key affairs that sneak up on you out of the box and keep you on board. Forget all that compared to this and that stuff, Wittgens is her own voice and it’s one you’ll be glad to hear. Hot stuff from a newcomer that’s sure to be around for a while. – Chris Spector
CHARLESTON GAZETTE – CHARLESTON, WV – JUNE 4, 2009
Andrea Wittgens In The Skyline (Trapdoor) - This Canadian-born, Seattle-based singer/songwriter/keyboardist has a fresh, beguiling voice that adds depth and personality to her tunes while her musical approach will keep your interest from beginning to end. Born in Nova Scotia and schooled in Ontario, Wittgens moved to Seattle in the mid-‘90s where she joined Sugartown. After five years, she struck out on her own with the 2006 EP “Alibi.” From the opening of the clever “Punchline,” the full-length follow up is chock full of songs based around her voice and piano - and, with wonderfully creative arrangements and instrumentation paint one vivid picture after another. “Empires of Straw” adds a string quartet while, in the middle of the quirky “Marching Orders,” she adds a gorgeous choral interlude. With a tip of the hat to Brecht, Jellyfish and maybe even XTC, Wittgens’ music is a soundtrack for a waiting room in a bordello or perhaps a carnival. Throughout the dozen tracks, the ideas and creativity seem to flow effortlessly, from the rock edge to “Blue-Eyed Fool” and the meticulously orchestrated “Everything Is Relative to You.” The Beatlesque “Beautiful You” sounds precisely like its title: With a flanged, almost liquid guitar line, the songs ebbs and swells from nothing but Wittgens voice to a beautiful ensemble. – Michael Lipton
A review of “In The Skyline” in the Jan 2009 issue of Sound Magazine.
Strength can be commanding, but so can eloquence. Especially when a silver tongue rides a voice that flitters with the wonderful unpredictability of a butterfly and the laser precision of, well, a laser. Such is the case for Seattle's Andrea Wittgens, whose two greatest assets (her voice and her pen) both underline and elevate each other. Her poetry is thoughtful, genuine and, on many occasions, as playful as a cabaret. Meanwhile, her pop ambitions are never too obvious; in fact, they're often obfuscated by chamber-sized orchestrations that oscillate between classically minded, grand strategies and flashy accoutrements. Beneath her penchant for torch songs and love songs is a tendency toward writing about unreal realms as diverse as Oz, Mordor and B-movies. This imaginative pop maestro's delivery and message are so delightfully refreshing that it's hard to remember she's working from the pop music playbook. SHAWN TELFORD.
Standout Tracks: "Cardboard Cutouts," "Blue-Eyed Fool" ★★★★1/2
"Incredible! Her songwriting sensibilities are the ilk of Edie Brickell, Carol Bayer Sager, and Joni Mitchell. And her voice just soars! You've got to invest your time to hear this." - Q-tip (A Tribe Called Quest and solo Artist)
"Magnetic, compelling. People are just drawn to the sound of her voice. She's the real thing." -- Bob Power, multi-platinum and Grammy-winning record mixer/producer
"Exquisitely evocative of the finest popmeisters of the past three decades. Music that is very new and fresh, unlike anything I've ever heard before." -- Bill Fisher, Victory Review
Common wisdom in the entertainment business dictates if you can't describe it in two sentences, go back to the boards and refine your pitch. However, those experienced and well traveled in the business know that in truth, it's the ones that you can't describe easily that are the true and lasting artists (think Rufus Wainwright, Erykah Badu, Jeff Buckley).
Seattle-based singer/songwriter Andrea Wittgens is the freshest original new voice on the scene in years. Combining sultry, engaging vocals (she has been compared to artists as varied as Rickie Lee Jones, Regina Spektor and PJ Harvey) with original songs that are both hypnotic and exuberant, and always showing immaculately appropriate musicality with clever yet disarmingly honest lyrics, she has been holding audiences in rapture throughout the Northwest.
Originally from small-town Antigonish (pronounced anna-ga-'nish), Nova Scotia, Andrea's earliest stage experiences were tap dancing as a precocious four year old, then twirling in pink tutus at the local ballet school, as well as atop (several) telephone books at piano recitals. Eventually outgrowing the telephone books (and hanging up her size 2 taps), she continued with both classical piano lessons and dance classes, which combined to form a deep physical connection to music which carries forth through today. Continuing with piano through high school, Andrea eventually spent several years teaching music, dance and movement, while refining her chops playing keys and singing in the high school jazz band. She continued with advanced classical music studies, graduating as a dual major (French and Music) at Queen's University, Ontario.
Moving to Seattle in the mid-90's, Andrea began her pop writing career in earnest, playing late nights at raucous beer and joints bars in Pioneer Square, Seattle (with what was to be future members of Sugartown), while next morning slogging in bleary-eyed to her day gig programming interactive music at Microsoft. By 1999, Sugartown was more than an idea, and in 2000, they released Blue Eyed Fool. The EP stirred up a wave of notice in Seattle, despite being an earnest fun-pop outfit pushing against the considerable tide of flannel-shirted insouciance.
After the release of Sugartown's second effort, How Do You Love, Aquamarine?, the band hit the road, up and down the West Coast -- Seattle, Portland, Ashland, Eugene, San Francisco, and on to LA.
Finally, after 5 years, Sugartown seemed to have run its course, and rather than being the voice and face of a band, it was time for Andrea to shine as a solo artist. With the help of Grammy producer/mixer Bob Power (Erykah Badu, Maktub, Citizen Cope), Andrea released her first solo effort, Alibi, in October 2006. The EP and Andrea's instantly arresting voice garnered excited reviews both at home in the Northwest and on the east coast where Andrea performed to packed houses at legendary NYC venues like The Living Room, The Knitting Factory, and The Bitter End.
While touring to support Alibi, she was - of course - plotting and writing material for her full-length follow up album. In the Skyline arrived two years later in November 2008 and was released locally In Seattle.
An adventurous mix of instrumentation, In the Skyline, is a 12-song ode to escapism, a vividly spun world where reality meets fantasy. Working with rock producer/mixer Johnny Sangster (Mudhoney, The Briefs), the album represents a return to a more viscerally emotional live band setting. From dreamy ("Empires of Straw") to dramatic ("Cardboard Cutouts"), from playful (“Summer Escape”) to ironic ("Creature Feature") the songs jump out of a dynamic foundation featuring Andrea at the helm on piano. As befits the fantastical lyrical content, evocative arrangements make use of a broad and colorful sonic palette weaving spooky Mellotrons, quirky Farfisas, and luscious string quartets into the mix. The album also includes a reunion with producer Bob Power (on the hypnotic "Beautiful You") as well as some magical co-production teamwork between Wittgens and guitarist/producer Vincent Gates (check out the disarmingly starkly honest opening track "Punchline" the darkly humorous "Marching Orders" or the stunning final track, her first original French recording, "Comme tu veux")
In the Skyline is a convergence of the writing, singing and riveting stage presence that with the CD's national release marks Andrea Wittgens' arrival as a singer/songwriter of the highest order.
Andrea Wittgens - In the Skyline - Trapdoor Music - National Release Date: June 16, 2009
www.myspace.com/andreawittgens
www.andreawittgens.com
Trapdoor Music
P.O. Box 23193
Seattle, WA 98102
National (US) Distribution by Burnside Distribution (www.bdcdistribution.com)
Publicity: Mark Pucci Media (770) 804-9555 / mpmedia@bellsouth.net
Radio Promotion: Kevin Sutter, Tazmoe Music (425) 889-2822 /
Tazmoe-music@clearwire.net
THANK YOU FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP & SUPPORT, ITS MUCH APPREICATED.
WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE, STOP BY MY SITE AND GIVE A LISTEN TO MY NEW CD ( BACK TO MY ROOTS ) THE RAIN & ROCKBOTTOM ARE DEDICATED TO VICTIMS OF THE FLOODS & FAILING ECONOMY
LEAVE A COMMENT OF YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT YOU HEARD.
Introducing THE SINISTER SURGEONS featuring members of; The Screaming Trees, Big High, and Mctuff (barrett, ari, van, and joe) at the Seamonster this Saturday October 10th no cover! 21+ 9:30 till close
BIG HIGH performs live @ the High Dive in fremont this Friday! Check it out!
Here's a review of the band from the infamous Dennis Cook of Jambase.com: A touch too punchy to make the morning offerings, I stumbled in and got WOKE THE FUCK UP by Big High, a local hard rock ensemble and friends to Flowmotion that struck a first impression akin to my first mind-blowing Drunk Horse gig. Like Oakland's steel-plated punk-boogie juggernaut, Big High aren't screwing around and it wasn't a whole tune before I was shaking like a madman close to the stage. Killer tunes, a crazy tight band and a lead singer (Mesa on "vocal flyfishing") possessed of a fathomless bottom and high reachin' top end plus a leaping, fiercely engaging stage presence, and well Big High sorta rocked my widdle world. It's serious heavy muscle that puts a lil' anger and sex in your bloodstream, culminating in a frighteningly good cover of The Who's "Baba O'Riley" delivered in Dr. John style feather masks for no good reason except to be delightfully weird. If you're feeling Clutch, Parlor Mob or just dig quality hard rock you're missing out if you don't get to know Big High. At the end of their set I bellowed, quite uncontrollably, "We're awake now, motherfuckers!" Meant it, too. -- Dennis Cook--www.jambase.com www.myspace.com/bighighmusic BIG HIGH is also on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/BIG-HIGH/134022157365?ref=nf High Dive www.highdiveseattle.com 513 N 36th St # G Seattle, WA 98103-8693 (206) 632-0212 &
Thank you for an amazing performance at this year's GRAHAMSTOCK! It was our pleasure to have you come, stay, and play --- and we wouldn't have it any other way! Can't wait to have you back next year!
In The Skyline is a fantastic album. I bought it on a whim -- the store I was at didn't have it in stock, but it was playing on the radio and I instantly fell in love! Keep making great music ;D
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