contact:
shenandoah.davis@gmail.com
In the last two years, Shenandoah Davis has recorded a full-length album and two tour EPs, has joined forces with Seattle's Grand Hallway, collaborated with the Portland Cello Project and the Seattle Rock Orchestra, toured the West and East Coasts extensively, performed all over Western Europe and, most recently, performed in Japan with Tomo Nakayama and PWRFL Power. Often accompanied by Danah Albaum on cello, she has shared stages with folks like Perfume Genius, Paper Bird, Lay Low, Nathaniel Rateliff, Paleo, Polka Dot Dot Dot, Dark Dark Dark, Adam Arcuragi, One Eskimo, Dovekins, Hoquiam, Cock & Swan, Zoe Boekbinder, and many others.
She is currently recording a second full-length album and planning a fresh slew of adventures for 2011.
"Every once in awhile, you’ll listen to something by an artist you’re completely unfamiliar with and suddenly, your ears perk up and you begin to listen a bit more closely, a bit more intently. And then suddenly, you’re in love. Meet Shenandoah Davis.possessing a style that lives somewhere within the blurry boundaries of neo-classicism, Davis’ music has been likened to that of harpist Joanna Newsom, although Davis’ key instrument is the piano. At times sparse and thankfully gloss-free, Davis’ songs feel as if they’ve lived in another century and fought their way back to the present day in order to tell their amazing stories."
Womenfolk
"I get so excited hearing music by people with so much classical training, seeing how they employ their background in their own music. And it shows through here in all the best ways, while retaining this remarkable originality. I am amazed at how something can sound at once so familiar and so marvelously unique.
Fabulist
"Don’t let Shenandoah Davis’s simplistic arrangements deceive you. With a voice like an old timey fiddle, she adds on contrapuntal guitar, piano and xylophone parts to round out the subtle symphony. “These Rocks” sounds like something Feist would come up with, only better. “Now We All All” shows off the sheer power of conviction present in her vocals, matched only by the powerful bang with which she hits the final low piano key. “Take Ourselves Out” plays like a Parisian cobble stone street dance. “Well Well Well” has an air of Vaudeville about it, if Vaudeville took place under water. In fact, it’s here where the simplistic arrangements clear away like a pair of heavy velvet curtains to expose the true playful mastery of Davis’s compositions. This happens just in time for the quick, trotting piano and castanet arrangement of “Milagros.” “Skeletons” finishes it all off—a dark, lonely waltz that takes the album full circle, back to the simple basics of vocals and piano, as the heavy curtains close once again."
Kim Ruehl, Seattle Sound
"It begins as a plinking piano, almost too shy to carry on and is followed by a unique voice just on the verge of cracking, but hangs on the precipice - never quite falling off. The sound expands with new layerings of that voice, making it stronger, broadening the knife’s edge, and becoming a solid foundation when shored up by classical strings and further layerings of piano. Even with a solid footing, the music still teeters somewhere between folk, classical and ragtime."
Kevin LeDoux, Seattle SubSonic
"Shenandoah Davis moved to Seattle about a year ago, bringing her solo music project that blends together "classical piano, folk, klezmer, and ragtime." Now, fans of Joanna Newsom have a local act to love (although Davis doesn't play the harp). As her description promises, the song "We, Camera" involves vintage, plinking piano pulled straight from what you'd expect to hear booming from an early-1900s-era bar. The piano takes a more classic and dramatic turn in "Our Favorite Idols," boasting a sweeping, beautiful tone. The star of every song, though, is Davis's unique voice that is as hard to like as Newsom's. But after a few listens, it's easier to embrace its "always on the verge of breaking" tone, especially when paired with music just as peculiar."
Megan Seling, The Stranger
"The {we; camera} video was directed by Clyde Petersen, and Britta Johnson, who has also lent her skills to videos for artists such as Mirah, helped with the cute little fabric (at least I THINK it's fabric) birds.But what was really astounding about the whole evening was how quiet the whole room became as soon as Shenandoah started playing. She sings like a bird, and her piano playing is like a sort of whimsical, melancholy saloon piano. Less jangle, more trill."
Sara Brickner, Seattle Weekly
"I could make comparisons to the sing along simplicity of one indie superstar, and the much-adored quirkiness of another, but to summon such names would feel like an injustice."
See What You Hear
