The modern Americana folk singer, Alela Diane's first live performance arose from an invitation by fellow Nevada City, CA native and childhood friend, Joanna Newsom. Diane's (now residing in Portland, OR) writing inspiration was sprouted by the anguish of her parent's divorce. Many articles oddly parallel Newsom and Diane, but I hear at times a conglomerate of Beth Orton on pitch, Laura Gibson, and Joni Mitchell. This self-taught guitarist grew up waking up and falling asleep to her parents singing in the kitchen. Surprisingly, she recorded some of her serene album To Be Still (February 2009) in her father's home recording studio.
She describes her sound as "the deeper sounds of the river." References of war, fields, and rivers sweeps you away to another time, back when life was about working hard to provide for your family's survival and the beauty of nature. There was no electricity, computers, televisions, or cars to warp your brain into caring about trivial things that aren't important. Diane pulls out lyrics about the old ambitious American dream and the humble heartaches that turn up along the way. This folk primitiveness is a rare find these days. People strive to come up with novel lyrics never heard before when occasionally all you want to hear is truth and simplicity. She reminds you of the small things in life. My personal ancestral favorite is "Age Old Blue," a folk song my great grandparents could have sang on the rugged ol' Oregon trail (by the way I used to love that computer game). The deep undertone harmonization by Michael Hurley creates a beautiful composite duet. Although this album came out a few months ago, I thought it was more than worthy of mentioning. It encompasses true folk music, and is a fresh breath of country air. You can download 8 live songs on Daytrotter from her albums To Be Still and The Pirate's Gospel (2006).
TOUR DATES:
05-08 Masonic Hall at Hollywood Forever Cemetery w/ Iron & Wine - Los Angeles, CA
05-09 McCabes w/ Mariee Sioux - Santa Monica, CA
05-10 Muddy Waters w/ Mariee Sioux - Santa Barbara, CA
05-11 Café Du Nord w/ Mariee Sioux - San Francisco, CA
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