Article Summary #15

Holly Miranda’s Album to be Released

Sisario, Ben, “Up From the Underground, Into the Light,” New York Times, February 19, 2010

Singer and songwriter Holly Miranda’s album is set to release on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Her album, titled “The Magician’s Private Library” shows off her talent as a rock artist. It was recorded two years ago by producer Dave Sitek and financed by Chrysalis Music. But it was more than a year later when the album was picked up by the record label XL Recordings. Much of Miranda’s experience in the music industry was with her former band, Jealous Girlfriends. But instead of singing with “grungy edges” as she did with Jealous Girlfriends, “The Magician’s Private Library” has a “soundscape of rainy, echoey guitars and electronics for her songs, which often begin in murkiness and then soar upward with her falsetto.”

Growing up in Detroit and then rural Tennessee, Miranda struggled to feel confident in her own skin. Her family was very religious and her parents prohibited most pop music. She began playing the guitar and performed at an open-mic in New York City where her older sister lived. Miranda then decided to leave her family in Tennessee and relocate to New York City.

Within a few years of living in New York, Miranda met Alex Lipson, the owner of a studio in Brooklyn called Headgear Recording. He started producing what was supposed to be her solo album. But three more artists were added and Jealous Girlfriends was started. The band released two albums, which were not overly successful. They were mainly confined to television program soundtracks spots.

Although many people compare Miranda’s vocals to those of Cat Power and Feist, she claims her role model to be Nina Simone. “Hearing Nina Simone sing other people’s songs had a huge impact on her. Knowing that the human voice is one of the most flexible mediums in the world, the most immediately identifiable instrument,” Sitek said.

“The Magician’s Library” is heavily centered on the power of dreams. “You can be completely free in your dreams. If you’re lucid dreaming you can do whatever you want. And who’s to say that that reality is any less real than this reality?” Miranda explained.