I'll play whatever it takes to get the track done, but I like to ask as many as of my friends as possible to contribute. Get the record for more details.
Influences
I'm not really sure which of these count as influences, as in you can hear them in my music, but I love the following:
Feist, Björk, Willie Nelson, Imogen Heap, Josh Ottum, of Montreal, Over the Rhine, Jolie Holland, DJ Germany, Tenacious D, the Carpenters, Blumfeld, Wilco, Emiliana Torrini, Richard Swift
Superfast rock and roll played slow and less is more. That was the motto for Tess Wiley’s third album due to be released in April 2007. A lot has changed in Tess’ life and music since the Texan released her last record “Not Quite Me” on Tapete Records. The most influential event was certainly the birth of her son Henry Fletcher in April of 2005. Tess soon realized that motherhood and creative productivity didn’t fit quite as well as the tiny diapers on her newborn baby’s bottom.
And so, downsizing became a keyword. The recordings for the album “Superfast Rock n’ Roll Played Slow” took place without a band, somewhere between the washer/dryer, the record collection and the changing table in her apartment in Giessen. Without any real recording equipment except what she managed to borrow, Tess had to be particularly innovative when coming up with, for example, a beat for the song “Raise your hand”. There you’ll hear the whack of a fist on an upholstered Vitra armchair in lieu of a bass drum, keys in a metal cup simulating a snare drum and a glockenspiel that’s actually just a wine glass. Her son’s toys didn’t go overlooked, either, when it came down to finding the right sound. As an example for such a guerilla approach, Tess looked to her husband Christian Roth (photographer and creative head of Hessenmob Skateboards), who has always proven that a lack of means doesn’t make a goal unreachable when you’re creative. Having met in 1994 at a festival in Holland where Tess was playing with the group Sixpence none the Richer, the couple’s artistic cooperation goes one step further on this record: the song “Anette” was originally written by Christian from a man’s point of view, but his wife reworked it a bit, and now it’s a party hit at Tess’ normally quiet and melancholic concerts.
You can truly feel the vastness of her homeland when listening to “Superfast Rock n’ Roll Played Slow”. If you close your eyes during songs like “Crying for you” (featuring Buddy Miller, guitarist and producer: Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Solomon Burke) or “Messed up everywhere blues”, you’ll hear anything but the “Sound of Middle Hessen”; rather something that Willie Nelson might listen to on the veranda of his farm while the sun paints the sky blood-orange as it lays itself to rest in the Texas Hill Country. The haunting cry of the singing saw on the instrumental “Slow”, played by Olivier Manchon (Sufjan Stevens, My Brightest Diamond), as well as the phantasmic santoor performances by Iranian guest musician Ghodi Giari, evokes a sense of longing otherwise conveyed by Tess’ voice. Musically, the artist seems to have found her home – somewhere between folk and country, right in the middle of Americana.
Through improvisation and home-recording charm, Tess Wiley’s new record is more intimate. More private. Closer. And that’s the beauty of it: her music tells of emotions, great and small, as a fact of life, and her melancholic voice articulates these delicate states of heart without succumbing to cliché. When Tess Wiley sings, the melody whispers the songs that we know all too well and whose lyrics we thought we’d forever forgotten.
In Hamburg, Sepßtember 8th, 2008
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Something Sweet and Real, Tess Wiley, From the Album 'Rainy Day Assembly
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Hi. What are you doing? I want to know about Germany in the fall and winter. Will you have some concerts for this christmas? I often listen to your song in my room or my mother's car:) I like "Halfway Through", "All For You" and so on! And I watched a music video of "Raise Your Hand" ... How cute, Tess! Very beautiful so much!! I want you to have the concert in Japan.
Hallöchen wollen nicht stören! Aber wir haben vor Kurzem ein paar neue Songs aufgenommen! Wenn du also Zeit und Lust hast, hör doch mal rein Rock'n Roll on :-)
Du willst am Himmelfahrtswochenende auf dem Sofa chillen? Nichts da, Du fährst zum Musikschutzgebiet! Dank Sofaoase gibt es keine Ausreden: Du kannst auf dem Grünhof abhängen viel Kunst sowie 25 Bands auf zwei Bühnen abfeiern. Das sagenhafte Line-Up findest du hier !
Liebe Tess, Danke für den unglaublich schönen Konzert-Abend in Gera. Ist einfach schön Deine Stimme zu hören und vor allem auch den wunderbaren Menschen Tess zu erleben! 7 Jahre sind eindeutig zu lang :-)Waren das echt 7 Jahre? Lieber Gruß und schöne Ostern mit Deiner Rasselbande incl. Mann grins. Bernd
wie gehts dir dann so alles fit bei dir habbm neuen track drin "AZZKILLA PARTY" kannst ja ma reinhörn wenn de bock hast grüße aus Gießen-West de bekloppte Matiotsch mann ich bin raus hausde rein
Our next concert it Friday, March 27. Doors open at 6:00 PM show starts at 6:30 PM.
Tickets are $5 in advance or $7 at the door. Tickets are available thru the bands or you can email us here on myspace and we will work out a way to get a ticket to you.
The Woods is located at 32101 Caroline Street, Fraser MI 48026 Phone (248) 217-5976 thewoodsartvenue@gmail.com.
Smile JESUS LOVES YOU! Stoping by your page showing some LOVE. Love You and Keep It Rooted In The WORD Of GOD! "Break Loose, Cause The World Don't Know You" HUNTER
the version on myspace is something a friend and i did in his basement. the album version is still to come. as for my 37 new songs... i'd love for you to sing on 38 of them.
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