Rio En Medio - Frontier

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4...according to our Brett on Thu 12 Nov, 2009.

It seems Rio En Medio is a lady called Danielle Stech-Homsy who's done stuff with Devandra Banhart, CocoRosie and other famous people in the lead-up to her debut album which she's called Frontier. Immediately I'm getting the feeling of a more instrumentally downbeat Bat For Lashes with more experimentation in the arrangements and production. Sensually whispered lyrics float around enigmatically while guitars are quickly picked and ideas drawn from fields as diverse as techno and folk make themselves known in the most subtle and tasteful of ways. It's pleasing my ears on this first listen and I reckon it's got 'grower' written all over it. CD and LP on Manimal Vinyl.

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Rio en Medio is Santa Fe, New Mexico resident Danielle Stech-Homsy. She released her debut album "The Bride of Dynamite" on Devendra Banhart's Gnomonsong label in early 2007. After extensive touring in the US and Europe with CocoRosie, Grizzly Bear and Quinn Walker, Danielle retreated to her New Mexico home to start on "Frontier". The LP was released on Manimal Vinyl in October 2008 and this 'deluxe edition' CD will include three previously unreleased bonus tracks and a video for the track "The Umbrella". In just the passed year, Danielle has performed or collaborated with a wide variety of outstanding artists, including Devendra, Vetiver, CocoRosie, Tarantula A.D., Tim Fite and Larry Yes, among others. In addition, she recently appeared at England's All Tomorrows' Parties Festival. Now, with the album release imminent, Danielle is already getting busy on her next projects. There are whispers of a collection of dance tracks in the works. She has alluded to a collaborative album with Tim Fite. As she gains momentum, Danielle is sure to surprise both herself and her audience, inspiring renewed faith in the power of a song to transform the reality of its listener. Danielle’s songwriting reflects a vast scope of influence from techno to traditional folk to early and contemporary classical, drawing on literature as well as music, from ancient to avant, and incorporating elements of chance. Her crystalline vocals, delicately strummed baritone ukulele and found sonic elements evoke the strange delight of a dream where the dreamer’s authority is always in question. At its best, the gentle, the fearful, the sorrowful, the formidable, the entranced and the rambunctious collide to create a sound that is as responsive as it is moving. In her own words, it is music that wants to listen as much as be heard. Note the LP does not have the 3 cbonus tracks.

Track Listing: Heartless/ Ferris/ The Umbrella/ The Diamond Wall/ Venus of Willendorf/ Standing Horses/ The Last Child's Tear/ Frontier/ Fall Up/ Stars Are/ Nameless/ The Light House/ Never Get You/ The Visitor

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