…features the previously unreleased studio track “Accidental Tattoo” plus twelve never-before-released live recordings captured during the trio’s 2016 tour.
When artists of note collaborate on a project, the greatest obstacle is usually balance. The participants may truly respect one another, but as talent, ego, and personality enter the picture, someone is inevitably going to dominate the proceedings, and someone else will end up in the shadows. Neko Case, k.d. lang, and Laura Veirs seem keenly aware of this on the album case/lang/veirs, an album of songs the three singers and songwriters wrote and recorded between 2013 and 2015. And these songs often suggest a conscious effort to make sure everyone…
Tag Archive: Laura Veirs
In retrospect, Laura Veirs‘ 12th album Found Light was something of an artistic turning point for the Portland musician. It was a break-up album, contemplating the end of her marriage, but also her first album that she co-produced. An album of demo tracks recorded on her phone followed in 2023, and now we have Temple Songs, the very definition of a DIY album.
Temple Songs is the first album that she’s written, recorded, produced and performed entirely on her own. It was quite literally recorded in Veirs’ backyard. She’s built her own studio and recorded this album using just a laptop and two microphones, and the entire album is simply Veirs’ voice, some delicate acoustic guitar and the odd instrumental embellishment.
Don’t you just love an album with a fascinating back story? Well, this album has one and is quite different to the norm because of it. Laura Veirs is a singer-songwriter, based in Portland, Oregon, but that’s by no means the full story. Veirs is also an author, writing a book; Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten, published in 2018 it was aimed at children. It tells the story of Cotten, an influential musician, a self-taught left-handed guitar player, who played a right-handed guitar upside down, and developed a style of playing which has influenced many players since. Veirs is a long-term fan of Cotten’s work. Additionally in 2018, she launched a weekly podcast with tales of working musicians who are also parents; the podcast…
