Alela Diane, Exeter Phoenix, Sunday 13th September, 8pm
Hailing from the deep woods and winding rivers of northern California gold rush town Nevada City, Alela Diane grew up singing songs with her parents (both musicians), and performing in the school choir.
During a stay in San Francisco in 2003, she began teaching herself guitar and writing her first songs, blending tense, trance-like arpeggios, with warm, thick vocals and meditative lyrics about family and nature.
Written in response to a loss of home and familiarity, her first album ‘The Pirate’s Gospel’ was a powerful document of personal re-evaluation and renewal set against the backdrop of generations past and future, mothers and fathers, life, death, and birth.
The songs were composed during a trip to Europe and recorded in her father’s studio in Nevada city.
Enchanting and endearing in equal parts, the album won the Rough Trade shops album of the year 2007, received unanimous critical acclaim and brought Alela Diane a dedicated following across the globe.
‘To Be Still’, the follow-up to her debut album, was released in February 2009. From the mandolin on "Tatted Lace" and the gorgeous pedal steel on the title track, to the strings on "Take Us Back" and the multi-tracked vocals throughout, it’s clear that Alela Diane’s musical palette has expanded.
Where Pirate’s Gospel benefited from a bare bones production that emphasized her powerful voice, the fuller and more varied sounds on ‘To Be Still’ help bring the strength of her songwriting to the fore.
‘To Be Still’ was created throughout 2007 and 2008. It began in Portland, Oregon, and was finished in scatters between Alela Diane’s tours and her dad’s home studio in Nevada City. In her own words: “These songs called for more instrumental filigree than those on The Pirate’s Gospel.
“It was challenging to delicately yet purposefully incorporate instrumentation into songs that I was so used to singing by myself. I was determined to make it work, because I wanted percussion. I wanted to hear the lonesome bow of the violin. I heard these harmonies in my head, and set out to capture them."
‘To Be Still’ shows Alela Diane to be as compelling and unique a voice as Will Oldham or Karen Dalton. She can let loose with gale force when she wants to and can reign it in with a ghostly, mournful style at other times. The little songbird curlicues she adds in the midst of a melody are heart-aching and beautiful.
Tickets cost £12/£10 (conc), to book tickets or for more information, visit www.exeterphoenix.org.uk or phone 01392 667 080.