Sharon Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and actress from New Jersey.
Video Sharon Van Etten
Early life
Van Etten was born in Belleville, New Jersey and lived in Nutley before moving to Clinton as a pre-teen. Later, she moved to Tennessee to attend Middle Tennessee State University and studied recording, but dropped out of college after a year. Van Etten ended up working at the Red Rose, a coffee and record shop and music venue in Murfreesboro, for about five years. In 2004, she moved back to New Jersey, where she worked at Perryville Wine and Spirits. Van Etten moved to New York City in 2005.
Maps Sharon Van Etten
Career
Van Etten self-released handmade CDs until 2009, when her debut studio recording was released. Before her studio debut, she worked at Astor Wines and as a publicist at Ba Da Bing Records.
Because I Was in Love
Van Etten's debut, Because I Was in Love, was released on May 26, 2009, on Language of Stone, and was manufactured and distributed by Drag City. Because I Was in Love was produced by Greg Weeks at Hexham Head studio in Philadelphia.
epic
On September 21, 2010, Van Etten released her second album, epic, on Ba Da Bing Records. With no set band at the time, Van Etten called on friends Jeffrey Kish, Dave Hartley, Jessica Larrabee, and Andy LaPlant of She Keeps Bees, Cat Martino, Meg Baird, Jim Callan, and Brian Christinzio. The album was produced by Brian McTear at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia. NPR described it as possessing "a fuller sound compared to the super-spare arrangements on her first two self-produced albums, but epic still feels incredibly intimate, with lots of room to breathe and unfold."
Tramp
Van Etten's third studio album, Tramp, was released on February 7, 2012, on Jagjaguwar. Tramp was produced by The National's Aaron Dessner and recorded in his home studio in Brooklyn, New York. The album features musicians Doug Keith, Thomas Bartlett, Bryan Devendorf, Bryce Dessner, Matt Barrick, Rob Moose, Julianna Barwick, Peter Silberman, Logan Coale, Clarice Jensen, Ben Lanz, Zach Condon, and Jenn Wasner.
Are We There
May 2014 brought about the release of Van Etten's fourth record, Are We There, on Jagjaguwar. Van Etten self-produced the record with Stewart Lerman, with the guidance of bandmate and manager Zeke Hutchins. Most of the recording was done at Hobo Sound Studios in Weehawken, New Jersey, with piano tracks being recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The record features musicians Zeke Hutchins, Doug Keith, Heather Woods Broderick, Dave Hartley, Adam Granduciel, Marisa Anderson, Stuart D. Bogie, Mickey Free, Mary Lattimore, Little Isidor, Jacob Morris, Torres' Mackenzie Scott, Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg, Lower Dens' Jana Hunter, and Efterklang touring member Peter Broderick.
I Don't Want to Let You Down EP
In 2015, the EP I Don't Want to Let You Down was released on Jagjaguwar. It is composed of the songs that did not make it onto Are We There.
Musical style
Van Etten's music is characterized by a heavy use of harmonies. Van Etten's songs were described by the music website Pitchfork Media as having "echoes of folk tradition." NPR Music asserts: "Her songs are heartfelt without being overly earnest; her poetry is plainspoken but not overt, and her elegant voice is wrapped in enough rasp and sorrow to keep from sounding too pure or confident."
As an actor
In 2016, Van Etten appeared in five episodes of season 1 of the Netflix drama The OA as Rachel, a fellow abductee along with Prairie in Dr. Percy's basement lab/terrarium. Rachel and the other captives are subjected to after-life experiments while conspiring over a period of years to possibly escape, and at one point, Rachel sings a song of remembrance. Van Etten also appeared in episode six of the 2017 Twin Peaks series on Showtime.
Personal life
Van Etten gave birth to her first child in 2017 and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Discography
Albums
- Right Beside Me (2005) - First demo, self-released on CD-R with home inkjet printed inserts.
- Musical Valium (2006) - Self-released
- When The Rain Came (2006) - Self-released
- Live At The Bowery Poetry Club (August 5, 2006) (2006) - Self-released live mini-album, CD-R packaged in a hand-made/glued brown paper bag sleeve.
- I Miss Tennessee (2006) - Second demo, self-released on CD-R with green textured art paper glued as the outer sleeve and a white vellum inner sleeve.
- Home Recordings aka Untitled (2007) - Self-released home-recorded CD-R, in plastic wallet with wallpaper sleeve with two inserts: a brown paper sheet with track listing and lyrics (which does not include track 11) and a written note: "Here is a mix of new and old. Sorry if some songs are noisy. I'm re-recording these in the next few weeks. I'd like to know what you think. X Sharon."
- Sharon Van Etten (2008) - Self-released home-recorded CD-R, with different artwork but same track listing as "Home Recordings" album.
- Because I Was in Love (2009)
- epic (2010)
- Tramp (2012)
- Tramp Demos (2012)
- Are We There (2014)
- (it was) because i was in love (2017) - A remastered & remixed version of Van Etten's 2009 debut album. Remastered by Joe Lambert, remixed by Craig Silvey, and includes deluxe vinyl packaging with new artwork and liner notes. Includes 2 bonus tracks, "I'm Giving Up On You" and "You Didn't Really Do That", previously only available through Polyvinyl.
EPs
- Amazon Artist Lounge - EP (2014)
- I Don't Want to Let You Down - EP (2015)
Singles
- 2007: "Much More Than That" / "Over Your Shoulder" by Sharon Van Etten (7") - Abaton Book Company, Lost Lathe Series (limited edition: 30 hand-numbered copies)
- September 10, 2010: "I'm Giving Up on You" / "You Didn't Really Do That" by Sharon Van Etten (7") - Polyvinyl Record Company - PRC-206 (limited edition: 500 copies on black vinyl)
- April 2013: "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" / "A Wake for the Minotaur" (7") by Shearon Van Ettenwater (Subpop) - a collaboration between Van Etten and Shearwater for Record Store Day 2013 (limited edition: 1,000 copies)
- January 2015: "I Don't Want to Let You Down" by Sharon Van Etten (Digital) - Jagjaguwar
Other contributions
- The Free People short film Rangeen featuring Frieda Pinto uses Van Etten's song "Love More"
- Lent voice to the Corona "Find Your Beach" campaign, covering Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies"
- V Magazine music video collaboration with director and photographer Karen Collins
- Ace and Jig song and model collaboration
- April 2009: "Coming Home" written by Jeremy Joyce for the feature film Woman's Prison (vocals and guitar)
- August 2009: "Kettering", "Thirteen", "Two", and "Shiva" on Hospice by The Antlers (vocals)
- 2010: Van Etten contributes vocals to two tracks on Beirut's album The Rip Tide
- March 2011: "Think You Can Wait" by The National from the soundtrack to the film Win Win (backing vocals)
- April 2012: "Serpents" was featured in the season 2 finale of Lost Girl, "Flesh and Blood"
- December 2012: A cover of Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do" was recorded with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks for the season 3 finale of Boardwalk Empire, "Margate Sands"
- December 2012: "Prisoners" with J Mascis on The Music Is You: A Tribute to John Denver
- January 2013: Van Etten performed at John Cale's tribute to Nico, Life Along the Borderline, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
- July 2013: "Serpents" was featured in the season 4 trailer for The Walking Dead at Comic-Con
- August 2013: Van Etten designed a limited edition charity T-shirt which was being sold through the Yellow Bird Project to raise money for Women In Need (WIN), a charity that provides safe housing for homeless women and their children in New York City
- January 20, 2014: Writing and performing in the film Song One starring Anne Hathaway
- February 2014: Producing, recording, and performing "Do You Realize" for the Amazon children's TV show Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street
- November 2014: "Every Time the Sun Comes Up" was used in the Season 3 Elementary episode "The Five Orange Pipz"
- 2015: Performed at Sundance Next Festival
- April 2015: Featured on the song "Sunshine On My Back" by The National, from the Trouble Will Find Me recording sessions
- July 2015: End credit songwriting for the film Tig
- 2016: Ace and Jig spring 2016 Fashion Week video featuring "I Wish I Knew" for Vogue.com Madewell feature
- May 2016: Appeared on the Grateful Dead tribute album Day of the Dead, singing "To Lay Me Down" credited to Perfume Genius, Sharon Van Etten & Friends
- June 2016: "Every Time The Sun Comes Up" is used for the "Wedding" Volvo XC90 automobile television advertisement
- September 2016: Scored the film Strange Weather by Katherine Dieckmann starring Holly Hunter which appeared at the Toronto International Film Festival. "The authentic-feeling Southern ambience, enhanced by Sharon Van Etten's low-key, country-inflected score, is one of the film's most potent assets." - The Hollywood Reporter, Jon Frosch
- December 2016: Featured as Rachel in The OA, which debuted on Netflix on December 16, 2016
- 2017: "Tarifa" was performed during the credit sequence of part six of Twin Peaks: The Return
- 2017: The song "Best I Can" from the film Dina, written and performed by Michael Cera and featuring Van Etten, was unsuccessfully nominated for Best Song In A Documentary at the 2017 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards.
References
External links
- Official website
- Sharon Van Etten on IMDb
- Sharon Van Etten: Tiny Desk Concert on All Songs Considered, NPR Music (15:40)[1]
Source of the article : Wikipedia