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Biography
The start of Dawson’s music career is often traced back to the experimental folk project, Moldy Peaches. She formed this group with Adam Green, a friend and fellow musician whom she met at a record store in Mt. Kisco, New York. The two decided to write music together not long after they met, but did so rather infrequently as Dawson sporadically moved between New York and Washington state for a period of four years. In 1999 Green eventually decided to join Dawson in Washington and after his move they were able to focus on the Moldy Peaches. Within about a years time Dawson and Green decided to move back to New York and expand the band’s line up to feature Strictly Beats (drums), Steve Mertens (bass), Jack Dishel (guitars), and Toby Goodshank (guitars).
This group was active up until 2004; however, both members had already started solo projects by 2002. Dawson’s studio debut “I’m Sorry That Sometimes I’m Mean” was released through Rough Trade Records on 5 November 2002 and was followed in 2003 by the Moldy Peaches compilation album, “Moldy Peaches 2000: Unreleased Cutz and Live Jamz 1994-2002”.
On 3 August 2004 Dawson released both her 2nd and 3rd studio albums “Knock Knock Who?” and “My Cute Fiend Sweet Princess” respectively. Both albums were issued through the label Important Records. Her 4th album “Hidden Vagenda” also came out in 2004, but was released through K Records. This release received strong critical backing by publications such as the Village Voice and Rolling Stone. It also featured a unique list of guest artists like Daniel Johnston, Regina Spektor, and Vanessa Carlton.
Her follow up album “Remember That I Love You” was issued in 2006 and is arguably her most popular release to date. Three of the albums songs “Tire Swing”, “Loose Lips”, and “My Rollercoaster” appeared in the Jason Reitman film Juno as well as her tracks “Sleep”, “So Nice So Smart”, “Tree Hugger” (co-written by Antsy Pants), and the Moldy Peaches cut “Anyone Else But You”, which was performed by Michael Cera and Ellen Page. Her prominent presence in the 2007 Juno soundtrack gained her many new fans and also garnered attention for the Moldy Peaches who went on to reform later that year.
Dawson’s 6th studio album “Alphabutt” was released in 2008. She toured extensively for this release and during this stint she exclusively sold copies of her EP “Alphabutt E.Pee”, which featured limited hand-drawn artwork. In 2011 she self-released her album “Thunder Thighs” through the label Great Crap Factory. This album featured independent hip-hop artist, Aesop Rock on many of the songs and even included a guest appearance from pro-wrestler Bryan Danielson. Dawson continued her creative relation with Aesop Rock and in 2013 the two released their 1st collaborative album, “Hokey Fright” under the moniker, the Uncluded.
Live reviews
I’m not entirely sure what the ‘anti-folk’ tag so often applied to Kimya Dawson is actually supposed to mean, but then again, I also don’t know why you’d need to apply such descriptive tags to an artist as recognisable as she is. Between that giant head of hair and her inimitable, husky, sometimes almost childlike voice, there’s no mistaking the woman probably best known for being one half of The Moldy Peaches; since the dissolution of that project with Adam Green, she seems to have continued to pursue collaboration, playing with Jeffrey Lewis in The Bundles and collaborating with Aesop Rock as The Uncluded. She does, though, continue to play solo shows from time to time, and certainly has a range of material to draw from; to date, she’s released seven records under her own name, with the most recent, Thunder Thighs, dropping in 2011. Her last UK dates came in support of it, in 2012, although she only paid visits to London and Brighton; the setlists were career-spanning affairs, focusing solely on her own work, as she took to the stage alone except for her acoustic guitar. That she managed to swing from rude interpretations of children’s songs (‘Alphabutt’) to tracks about losing friends to cancer speaks to her versatility; Dawson’s a real one-off, and we can only hope it isn’t too long before she’s back on these shores.
Joeg_67
American singer/songwriter Kimya Dawson is one of the most intriguing live performers mainly due to the fact she is able to create immediate and all consuming intimacy with her hushed, husky tones and well written music. There is a real honesty and rawness to this lady's performance as you feel she is not holding anything back, willing to share her entire entity with the crowd gathered this evening.
The audience remains totally entranced as she tenderly plucks the string of her trusty acoustic guitar and regales the tales of 'Mare and the Bear' and 'Complicated'. Very much in tune with the world music scene, there are nods towards a variety of other genres inspiring her folk sounds tonight. She works through her own music at a pacy rate so therefore has time to fit in over fifteen tracks tonight before it culminates in the simplistic 'Zero or a Zillion'.
sean-ward
Kimya Dawson took us on a ride on an emotional roller coaster! Her set had kids songs (complete with sing-alongs!), uplifting songs like "I Like Giants", protest songs like "On Fire", and a song her brother wrote about what a professional wrestler might be like in bed. It was a very peaceful and warm set, with a few twists into righteous protest. It was great!
Her cool merch table included her own drawings (originals and prints), plus socks!
Kimya Dawson is an amazing person and you should go see her if you have the opportunity.
Couple tips: Save the (out-of-rhythm) clapping along for other artists, and maybe don't yell out in your big deep voice that you love her because that's a little scary even if you mean it.
bee1000
