Merrill Garbus
As part of the Pop Music in Practice class we were asked to prepare a short talk to be done in front of the class. The talk could be on any artist, band, song, album or genre that we liked. I chose to prepare a talk on Merrill Garbus, and particularly on her musical project, tUnE-yArDs. As the Pop Music in practice class is no longer running, i will not be doing my talk in front of my class mates, but will include the information from my talk in my blog. Merrill Garbus is an inspirational artist to me. I love her music, so it has been very interesting to learn a little about her background.
Merrill was born in 1973, and raised in New Cannan, Connecticut, in the U.S.A. Her mother played piano, and gave Merrill lessons from when she was 6 years old to when she was 13. Her father played the fiddle, and later also worked for the computer company IBM.
Merrill was a quiet, reserved child. Despite not coming from a wealthy family, she recalls her childhood years as being inspiring and exciting.
As a young adult, she spent time living in New York and Memphis before going to study theater at Smith College in Massachusetts, a prestigious liberal arts college. As well as joining the theater group at the college, Merrill also sang with acapella group, The Notables, and featured on their 2001 release 'Make no Mistake.' She also joined the college improv comedy group - The Sikos. Merrill was immersed in performance when she left college, but with no clear direction she ended up working as a puppeteer for a theater company based in Vermont. With the Sandglass theater company, Merrill co-wrote plays and also helped to write the music for many shows. One of the shows she worked on was 'The Ark in The Tree' the story of a Hippopotamus who lives in a bathtub at the top of a tree, and fishes for things that influence his daily routine.
Merrill was a quiet, reserved child. Despite not coming from a wealthy family, she recalls her childhood years as being inspiring and exciting.
As a young adult, she spent time living in New York and Memphis before going to study theater at Smith College in Massachusetts, a prestigious liberal arts college. As well as joining the theater group at the college, Merrill also sang with acapella group, The Notables, and featured on their 2001 release 'Make no Mistake.' She also joined the college improv comedy group - The Sikos. Merrill was immersed in performance when she left college, but with no clear direction she ended up working as a puppeteer for a theater company based in Vermont. With the Sandglass theater company, Merrill co-wrote plays and also helped to write the music for many shows. One of the shows she worked on was 'The Ark in The Tree' the story of a Hippopotamus who lives in a bathtub at the top of a tree, and fishes for things that influence his daily routine.
During her three years with the Sandglass theater company, Merrill developed close relationships with her co-workers, and traveled to Finland, France, Switzerland and Sweden for performances.
After leaving Sandglass, Merrill entered what she refers to as her 'gypsy phase.' She moved back in with her parents for a while, and also spent time living in her aunts basement. This time in her life was marked by mounting debts, continual moving, and depression. Though it was also during this time that Merrill began to play open mic nights.
In 2005 Merrill began working at Appel Farm, a summer arts camp for children in New Jersey. It was here the she met future band mate and song writing partner, Nate Brenner. Nate also worked at Appel farm, teaching children to play bass guitar.
For a short time, Merrill had a job shredding dead patient's documents at her uncles medical practice. She also spent time working as a nanny in Martha's Vineyard. During this time she adopted the name tUnE-yArDs, and began working on two solo albums, one with the title 'Deceased Xmas,' and the other 'Year of the Slut.' Neither of the albums have been released.
Merrill moved to Montreal in 2009 and joined friends band, Sister Suvi. Featuring Merrill Garbus - Ukulele, Fiddle and Vocals, Nico Dann - Percussion and Vocals, and Patrick Gregoire - Guitar and vocals.
Merrill moved to Montreal in 2009 and joined friends band, Sister Suvi. Featuring Merrill Garbus - Ukulele, Fiddle and Vocals, Nico Dann - Percussion and Vocals, and Patrick Gregoire - Guitar and vocals.
It was while Merrill was performing with Sister Suvi that future band mate, Nate Brenner first saw her performing. Although they had jammed casually since meeting as co-workers at Appel Farm, it wasn't until after Nate saw Merrill performing that they began to develop a musical relationship.
As well as performing with Sister Suvi, Merrill launched herself into the music scene of Montreal as a solo artist, using her vocals, her loop station and her Ukulele. In 2009 Merrill also began working on her debut album, BiRd-BrAiNs. Recorded using only a hand held Dictaphone, and assembled with sharewere mixing software, the album was noted for its gritty, lo-fi sound. It was released in June, 2009 on a Portland based indie label called Marriage records.
As well as performing with Sister Suvi, Merrill launched herself into the music scene of Montreal as a solo artist, using her vocals, her loop station and her Ukulele. In 2009 Merrill also began working on her debut album, BiRd-BrAiNs. Recorded using only a hand held Dictaphone, and assembled with sharewere mixing software, the album was noted for its gritty, lo-fi sound. It was released in June, 2009 on a Portland based indie label called Marriage records.
By July 2009, tUnE-yArDs had signed with 4AD, a larger label that promotes bands such as TV on the Radio, The Pixies and Bon Iver. The BiRd-BrAiNs album was re-released worldwide on 4AD records in November, 2009 with two bonus tracks.
Shortly after this, Merrill moved to Oakland, California. Partly so she could be closer to band member Nate Brenner, and partly because of issues with her visa in Montreal.
Shortly after this, Merrill moved to Oakland, California. Partly so she could be closer to band member Nate Brenner, and partly because of issues with her visa in Montreal.
Work on Merrill's second album, WhoKill began in May 2010. With a whole studio at her disposal, Merrill was able to be more ambitious with this album, and achieves a much more dynamic, sophisticated sound. Merrill produced the album herself, it was co-written by band member Nate Brenner, and engineered by friend, Eli Crews. WhoKill was released on 4AD records in April 2011. The WhoKill tour also includes a saxophone section consisting of Matt Nelson and Noah Bernstein
Merrill also spent time studying music in Kenya, particularly African singing techniques, the influence of which is evident in her work.
The tUnE-yArDs song 'Fiya' was used in a Blackberry advert, and the song 'Gangsta' was used in TV shows 'The Good Wife' and 'Weeds.'
The tUnE-yArDs song 'Fiya' was used in a Blackberry advert, and the song 'Gangsta' was used in TV shows 'The Good Wife' and 'Weeds.'
With influences of many different genres, and an unconventional approach, Merrill achieves a distinctive quality in her music that i love. In a music industry that is dominated by commercial interests and airbrushed divas, i find it inspiring and refreshing to hear someone creating such unique and interesting music.