Picture this – you’re sitting in a dark and smoky bar in the middle of the city, with a whiskey in hand. A spotlight reveals a girl on a makeshift stage with a guitar and she starts to strum. The crowd falls silent as she sings and soon the entire bar is encapsulated by the sheer hypnotic essence of her voice. This is exactly how I would imagine seeing Sharon Van Etten live!
Sharon Van Etten’s new single certainly won’t let you down! Her intimate storytelling and husky drawl are more engaging than ever on I Don’t Want To Let You Down.
The thirty three year old indie and folk-rock singer-songwriter was born in New Jersey and moved to Brooklyn in 2005. Signed with labels Jagjaguwar and Ba Da Bing, she is a multi-instrumentalist who dabbles in guitar, piano, percussion, omnichord and harmonium. With the production of effortlessly sounding music, Sharon Van Etten is an artist that brings music back to its raw connection between the instrument and the vocals that evoke emotion within her listeners.
Before the release of her debut album Because I Was in Love in May 2006, Etten released numerous hand-designed records, which she would paint herself. She would then sell these on her website as well as other creative ventures such as postcards and T-shirts. Etten has a real grasp on creativity yet also is quite a practical artist. Wanting to peruse a career in music she knew that whatever she could do in order to understand the music industry more, would be of benefit to not only her career but her creative ability. Therefore she started working for Ba Da Bing Records as a publicist. Without telling them she was writing and performing music, Etten started as an intern then worked her way up to a full-time publicist.
Etten’s big break came when she sent a homemade CD to Jeffrey Davidson of WFMU’s Shrunken Planet. He loved what he heard and played her on his show and this became the first time her music would be played on air. Since here she has released four albums: Because I was in Love, Epic, Tramp, and Are We There. Since WFMU it has only been up for Etten and lucky for audiences internationally, as we are now able to hear the velvety-brilliance that is Sharon Van Etten.
“I Don’t Want to Let You Down” is the most recent release by Etten and was debuted on January 14th. The track has already been receiving a really positive response with Etten even premiering the track on The Ellen Show with Ellen DeGeneres. There is a lovely tango of guitar and vocals in this track. The rhythmic guitar continues at a soothing tempo, which creates a lovely continuation throughout the piece. The vocals are nothing but beautifully harmonic and enchanting. The husky smokiness to her voice really complements the melodic guitar that enables the piece to create an atmosphere that exemplifies the understanding of music’s effect that Etten has.
Sharon Van Etten is at her core, rock with reminiscent folk undertones that exude a heavy yet successful use of harmonies. She is a brilliant artist through her understanding and delivery of music and is definitely one that will produce work that we should be keeping our eyes out for in 2015!
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