Doveman

First of all there is his voice. First you will hear it -- maybe hate it -- but then, eventually, it will begin to transform how you think voices are supposed to sound. A frog in the throat, a kink in the heart, a rasp that doesn't go away...

Then, hopefully, you will be overhwhelmed by the music -- an ebbing then swelling, oceanic thing, it comes than goes; tickles your ears then pokes you in the ribs; has unstoppable momentum when it is not finding new ways to climax or standing absolutely stock still.

Doveman is 25-year old Thomas Bartlett and a select group of collaborators. Most often, the band includes banjo player Sam Amidon, a folk singer and old childhood friend; drummer Dougie Bowne, sideman to Iggy Pop, the Lounge Lizards, and Cassandra Wilson; guitarist and conjurer Shahzad Ismaily, who has previously appeared with that magical trifecta -- Marc Ribot, the Master Musicians of Joujouka, and Rage Against the Machine; and trumpeter Peter Ecklund, an expert in genres like swing and dixieland jazz. At various times there are various others. Doveman does not rehearse, but they sure can play.

When listening to this music you should keep in mind artists such as Frederic Chopin, Cat Power, Keith Jarrett, Talk Talk, and Chris Whitley -- unless you don't know any them or are not a fan, in which case you should keep in mind Nick Drake, The National, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and other, trendier bands whose music has recently appeared in car commercials.

Together Doveman -- the Dovemen? -- make lovely, interesting, heart-rending sounds, like a broken wing flapping and starting to take flight.

www.dovemanmusic.com
www.myspace.com/doveman

Nico Muhly

Nico Muhly was born in Vermont in 1981 and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from Columbia University in 2003 with a degree in English Literature and received a Masters in Music from the Julliard School one year later.

Since receiving his degrees, he has amassed a string of commissions, collaborations, and premieres that would be notable for a composer twice his age. He has written orchestral pieces for the Boston Pops, the Chicago Symphony MusicNOW, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Julliard Orchestra, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Orchestra, and the American Ballet Theatre (for choreographer Benjamin Millepied). His works have been premiered on the BBC and at New York's St. Thomas Church, Carnegie Hall, the Whitney Museum and the New York Public Library - the latter, a special collaboration with designer/illustrator Maira Kalman in honor of her illustrated edition of The Elements of Style. Finally, Muhly has worked extensively with Philip Glass as editor, keyboardist, and conductor for numerous film and stage projects, and contributed to projects by a striking constellation of pop figures, among them Rufus Wainwright, Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons), Björk, Teitur, Will Oldham, and The National.

These many personal connections highlight one of the more important aspects of Muhly's musical life - in a word, community. The cast of characters who appear on Mothertongue include his closest collaborators - violist Nadia Sirota, folk singer Sam Amidon and, last but not least, Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurdsson. Sigurdsson's and Muhly's view on musical relationships was, in part, the inspiration for Bedroom Community, the label Sigurdsson founded and which created both Mothertongue and its predecessor, Speaks Volumes, Muhly's 2006 debut.

www.nicomuhly.com
www.myspace.com/muhly

Sam Amidon

Sam Amidon was raised in Brattleboro, Vermont by folk-musician parents Peter and Mary Alice Amidon. He sings, plays fiddle, banjo, guitar, and can count in binary code on his hands really fast.  "All Is Well," a collection of re-worked folksongs produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson and featuring chamber-orchestral arrangements by Nico Muhly and contributions from Eyvind Kang, Aaron Siegel, Ben Frost, and Stefan Amidon, is his first album for Bedroom Community.

His previous album of songs, a duo with Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman)  under the name Samamidon and called "But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted," was labelled "the most interesting folk album of 2007" by Stylus magazine.

Sam lives in New York City.  He plays in the lamp-rock bands Doveman and Stars Like Fleas, and has also played with Tall Firs, The Swell Season, and Stares. In March, he premiered the Nico Muhly composition "The Only Tune" at Carnegie Hall.

Sam studied with the late free-jazz legend Leroy Jenkins and downtown/jazz violinist Mark Feldman. As a teenager he became known throughout the United States folk scene as  fiddler, releasing 5 albums with his band Assembly to great acclaim, as well as performing with his parents. Along the way he and Assembly gathered attention from All Things Considered, CNN, The Boston Globe, and Fiddler Magazine, and eventually Sam acted in a starring role in a feature film called "American Wake," which had its premier at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.  Life is odd.

Sam makes videos and draws comics.

www.samamidon.com
www.myspace.com/samamidon