Emily Wells with 1939 Ensemble
Event on 2012-06-03 19:00:00
6/03 : Emily Wells with 1939 Ensemble
by Ross Shuber
On Sunday June 3, the CCPA and University of Oregon Campus radio 88.1 FM KWVA proudly welcome Emily Wells with special guests 1939 Ensemble.
Emily Wells' music has a wonderful way of being markedly unique, and comfortably familiar at the same time. Not easily pigeonholed in one genre, Wells considers influences from all over the musical spectrum but mostly her songs are a mesh between hip-hop and classical. She is a self-proclaimed fan of sound.
Now residing in New York City, Wells was born in Amarillo, Texas and also grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. Classically trained as a violinist (beginning at age 4), she also plays drums, beat machines, keys and whatever else she can fit into her road case.
Wells self-released her first album at age 13 as a cassette tape making 100 copies to distribute and has several unofficial releases since then. Her official album releases consist of Beautiful Sleepyheads and the Laughing Yaks (2007),The Symphonies: Dreams, Memories, and Parties (2008), and Dirty EP (2009), as well as her new album Mama (2012). Her current tour, the Mama Release Tour 2012, is in support and celebration of the new album. It started in Buffalo, and weaves its way through the heartland of America to the west coast and Eugene.
Wells recordings are quite an accomplishment, but it's her hypnotic live performances that are not to be missed. Using a looping device, she becomes a one-woman orchestra building each song in front of the audiences eyes. She uses a wide variety of instruments and gadgets that is centered around the violin, but also may include toy microphones, percussion instruments, and her beautiful and strong voice. Each song is a different musical journey that is born one instrument at a time. She's even been known to do covers, including the Notorious B.I.G song "Juicy".
Says SPIN magazine's Steve Appleford, "Layering eerie strings, bleeping synths, and electronic beats under Biggie's rags-to-riches lyrics, she sings and raps like a feral, streetwise Nina Simone."
Pretty much everything Wells creates is something never before seen, and her diversity is what leads to a creative and engrossing end result. The performer, producer and songwriter trades in a striking mix of classical instrumentation, folk rawness and hip-hop production anchored by her haunting combination of voice and violin.
The New Yorker called Wells music, "a highly theatrical labyrinth of rap, gothic folk, classical, and electronica songs."
Her musical style may be hard to define, but as Count Bass B raps in a collaboration song with Wells ("Symphony 3: The Story") — "Another concept we all must ponder, absence of the genre makes the art grow fonder."
Opening for Emily Wells will be the 1939 Ensemble, an instrumental duo out of Portland featuring Jose Medeles (The Breeders) and David Coniglio. Their music moves between ominous dissonant noise, to sharp bombastic beats.
Mark your calendar folks, and come down to the WOW Hall and be a part of the one of the best Sunday events of the year.
Tickets are in advance and at the door. Doors open at 6:30 pm and showtime is at 7:00
SHOWTIME: 7:00 PM, PRICE: Advance, Door. BUY TICKETS NOW
http://www.emilywellsmusic.com http://www.myspace.com/emilywells
at Wow Hall
291 West Eighth Avenue
Eugene, United States
Date: Tuesday, June 12



