I record at home with help from my friends.
Live line up
Erica Quitzow; guitar, vox, moog, korg.
Gary Levitt; alternate bass and drums and vox.
Topu Lyo : cello and keys
Heidi Vanderlee: cello
Dylan Wissing: drums
Miles Kennedy: drums
Meryl Joan Lammers: back vox, keys and percussion
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Influences
The Beatles, Grandaddy, Mary Timony, Pink Floyd, Of Montreal, Bel Biv Devoe, Crystal Castles, Tilly and the Wall, Prince, The Faint, Tod Rundgren, Quasi, Jeffrey Lewis, Joni Mitchell, Milan Kundera, Linda Barry, The Pixies, Lisa Germano, PJ Harvey, David Bowie, Emmylou Harris, Slick Rick, Kimya Dawson, MIA, Peaches, Meryl Jaon Lammers, Jennifer Turner, Keylani Larson and The Ovulators, Adah Hahn, Eric Layer, Laura Pepitone, Vol Quitzow.
Sounds Like
Getting lost in a Japanese strip mall while slightly intoxicated from love and otherwise...
"Goddamnit I can’t describe it using conventional pigeonholing terminology; it’s just FUN. Do you know what FUN is? Art College is FUN" (RUM-SOAKED REVIEW)
"upstate New York singer songwriter Erica Quitzow gives her cello and Moog art whimsy a bubbly groove and defiant summer strut." (SPIN MAGAZINE, September 2008)
"indie-pop crooner Erica Quitzow favors droll arrangements that mash up strings with hip-hop beats. Her mordant wit helps tie the weird mix together." (TIME OUT NY)
"Oh, words can't express how much I adore this woman (full name: Erica Quitzow). If you dig Peaches, Le Tigre and early Liz Phair, she'll be right up your alley. Her new album is called Art College. I want to be her roommate." (USA TODAY, POP CANDY)
"her approach to songwriting heavily reflects the collage aesthetic favored that the late-career Beatles."(Saby Reyes-Kulkarni, NEW YORK PRESS.)
"Sexy makes its presence with seductive vocals over eerie keyboard sequencing. Quitzow's latest work is baby-making music for a new generation." (REMIX MAGAZINE, June 2008)
“Juggling mind-blowing moog/rhodes/bass while singing,” (SXSW FESTIVAL GUIDE.)
"throbbing Timbland-style synth lines. Her greatest asset is her gift for writing strong, simple yet elegant hooks for strings." (FLUXBLOG.ORG)
"While rumbling Moog lines and old school-ish MPC beats fill out the low end, additional keyboards flutter on top, slipping in and out while rallying behind the driving melodies. Oh, and did I mention this is the carefully crafted (or possibly mad scientist influenced) output of a one-woman band?" (CD BABY, Editor's Pick)
"Erica Q rocks the mic like an ethereal hybrid of Jeff Buckley, Siouxsie Sioux, and Toni Halliday." (Summer Burkes, THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN.)
"New York's Quitzow uses a swill of humor and keyboard-based melodrama to illustrate the superficial and sometimes slaughterhouse rules with which people tend to curse one another. Alternately dreamy and debauched, always smart." (CHAPEL HILL INDEPENDENT WEEKLY)
"Her string instrument of choiceand its role as a lead instrument, draws similarities to cello trio Rasputina, especially when combined with Quitzow's semi-manic vocals. But Art College has dance party written over parts of it too, thanks to the rubbery keyboards. If the Fiery Furnaces could stick with just one musical idea and develop it, they might sound more like Quitzow." (PITTSBURGH CITY PAPPER)
"For an artist who essentially does everything herself, Erica Quitzow does a bang up job of making brilliantly beat ridden pop that you can have a hop too. Whether it's angry or sentimental, Quitzow has a beat and a genre to fit any situation and that's what makes Art College a great record." (FIRST COAST NEWS, Jacksonville, FL)
“getting lost in a Japanese strip mall while slightly intoxicated from love and otherwise.”(SACRAMENTO NEWS AND REVIEW)
"a New Pornographers or Broken Social Scene-styled supergroup, but in a smaller, sweeter, two-faced incarnation. Quitzow shows hints of Le Tigre mixed in a bowl of cello-fied Peaches, stunning in it's innovation and accessibility." (EUGENE WEEKLY)
"It's hard to tell exactly what kind of instruments and/or contraptions she is using to make all of the sounds on her stormy, explosive new solo album, but the results are definitely tons of free-spirited fun." (URBAN TULSA WEEKLY)
"The best thing about her new record is that you feel anything could happen AND it actually does sometimes." (NEW-NOISE.NET)
"Holy Cow Quitzow! With sounds sewing in the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, CSS, and Beck, Quitzow has truly put out a wildly expressive and entertaining album full of experimental soundscapes, bedroom electro-pop, and Enon style crazy rock. Everything coagulates behind Erica Quitzow’s voice which tends to shift between Karen O and Beth Gibbons. Oh and she also plays about a bazillion instruments on this album (including a cat…trust me). Impressive. Most impressive." (PASTA PRIMAVERA)
"Tongue-in-cheek humour is a large part of Art College’s feel – irreverent lyrics, cacophonous instrumentation and a reliance on the listener being in on the joke." (CYCLIC DEFROST MAGAZINE)
"In this modern day and age, it's an immense joy to come across an artist that isn't afraid to cross boundaries and throw in ideas of both the uncanny and the down right bizarre. Such an artist is New York born singer-songwriter Erica Quitzow. Having already set the ground for her works to Come with her self-titled début, Erica is set to out-do herself with her latest opus "Art College".
For those wondering if "Art College" is any good, all I can tell you is this: Listen carefully to the true mastery that Erica Quitzow has created, and enjoy this strange, yet enchanting art with all your heart and soul, and in doing so, find your own answer. This reviewer however, couldn't be more in love with this album if he tried. Stunning."
(SUBBA CULTCHA)
"It’s a new notch in the bridge of the cello, a step in the stairs, a place from which other
musicians will draw from. Congratulations." (STRANDED IN STEREO)
"Quitzow are one of the few bands that actually succeed in blending several contrasting
textures and genres. Their combination of moog-based rock, cello driven dirges,
downbeat trip-hop, and quirky, funky pop may sound a bit skewed on paper, but in execution, it’s a delight, and the same could be said about their performances." (Frank Deserto, LIMEWIRE)
“Right on! Who needs lead guitars when you’ve got lead cellos” (POP(WRECKONING))
"Quitzow reminds me exactly of what PJ Harvey would sound like if she were a cello player into lo-fi electronica. No really, it's that good!" (COMFORT MUSIC.COM)
What a wonderful piece of pop-pleasure this little beauty is!! Quitzow is New York
electro-pop experimentalist Erica Quitzow and this sensational album, 'Art College', is
simply divine! Mixing electronic with 'orchestral', fusing digital sound with strings and
things, taking pop to new highs and re-defining a genre, Quitzow takes on the musical
'establishment' with this collection of boldly challenging musical juxtapositions and
futuristic 'symphonies'. (TOXIC PETE, UK)
“If you prefer your pop not to rock your belief system, then I’d advise skipping this record.” (Veronique Chavilier, BLUERAILROAD MAGAZINE.)
"There's no predicting what strange, thought-provoking, beautiful noises might be lurking around Quitzow's studio, readying themselves for the journey inside your skull and preparing to roll around on your tympanic membrane." (Sharon Nichols, THE CHRONOGRAM.)
“combining the fun of Peaches with the intelligence of Lori Anderson” (Eric Layer, from a well written email.)
Glad you still listen to it ! Some new tracks should be released in September I guess. Wow "Gossip Girl" ! That's great !!! Hope to see you in France again ! Simon
Hey fellow humans,
PAS sends it kind regards your way and would like to invite you to our next performances in Brooklyn.
Thursday: 06/18/2009 10:00 PM - The Wreck Room-Bushwick, Brooklyn
940 Flushing Ave, (between Central Ave & Evergreen Ave)
Brooklyn, New York 11206
US
Cost:$5
Description:line-up: THURS JUNE 18: PAS (Post Abortion Stress) Womb Rippers Calves Ghoul Poon
Friday: 06/19/2009 08:00 PM - Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway
Brooklyn, New York
US
Cost:N/A
Description:PAS 10 PM The Invisible Hand 11 PM Others TBA
Hey! I heard your music a while ago and thought it was awesome, but had to delete that profile. I remembered the one I liked the most ("Art College") and typed it into google, and bam, you came up! I wound up buying the song and all of my friends always comment on it whenever I play it. I hope you swing by New York City within the next few months because I'd totally dig seeing a performance. Thanks for the add!
Great show last night! I like your guys' style! Of course I wish more people showed up...but thats the Colony for you haha. We definitely should play some more shows together in the soon future. I'd be into it!
