Vashti Bunyan

[kearn1tm]

I just stumbled onto her work. Apparently, this UK folk singer was one of the pioneers of "Freak Folk" and, at one time during the late '60s, was lauded as the "female Bob Dylan." Her lyrics are earthy and her voice is haunting. Check out her first album, Just Another Diamond Day and her follow up, that was nearly thirty-five years in the making, Lookaftering. She's also collaborated with artists such as Devendra Banhart.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofi le&friendid=89689786

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vashti_Bunyan

Reviews:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ivge4j274waq

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15859-just-another-diamond-day

[kearn1tm]

Heathens!

[El_Jeffe]

oh man where have i been, had no idea she had a new(ish) album out. i'll have to check it out soon as. just another diamond day is a great listen, although for whichever reason it took me a little while to settle with her voice. very soft & delicate, & at times sung in an somewhat strangely high pitch. but it really works once it clicks. it's a style that's certainly become very borrowed upon by many modern folk singers

[kearn1tm]

oh man where have i been, had no idea she had a new(ish) album out. i'll have to check it out soon as. just another diamond day is a great listen, although for whichever reason it took me a little while to settle with her voice. very soft & delicate, & at times sung in an somewhat strangely high pitch. but it really works once it clicks. it's a style that's certainly become very borrowed upon by many modern folk singers

The '05 release isn't too bad. It's nowhere near Just Another Diamond Day, in my opinion, but it's quite enjoyable.

[FeynmanWannabe]

Yup, good stuff.

[kearn1tm]

I'm seeing her next Friday.

[IWasaCamera]

May spin Diamond Day later.

[kearn1tm]

May spin Diamond Day later.

It's such a criminally overlooked album, especially considering it was released in 1970 during the mainstream Folk explosion, but it never found an audience among the Joni Mitchells and Simon and Garfunkels.

I've been spinning the '05 return. She hasn't missed a step.

[IWasaCamera]

Discussion regarding the more prominent folk artists (Mitchell, Drake, Lightfoot, Cohen, Fairport Convention/Richard and Linda Thompson, etc.) is far more likely, yet even that doesn't happen much ha. Bunyan has a truly angelic voice though, as if suspended in mid-air.

[kearn1tm]

Discussion regarding the more prominent folk artists (Mitchell, Drake, Lightfoot, Cohen, Fairport Convention/Richard and Linda Thompson, etc.) is far more likely, yet even that doesn't happen much ha. Bunyan has a truly angelic voice though, as if suspended in mid-air.

It's a very breathy and delicate-yet commanding and deep voice. I imagine in that respect, she'd be the closest vocal equivalent of a female Drake. Her voice hadn't shown much of the ravages of age in the latest album, which was thirty-five years apart. It's incredibly impressive.

EDIT - I first got into her in '06 when aunt (a woman out-of-time who never moved on passed the '60s and early '70s) took me to see her. Marissa Nadler (who I adored) opened and the two sang Glow Worms together. It was phenomenal.

[IWasaCamera]

It's a very breathy and delicate-yet commanding and deep voice. I imagine in that respect, she'd be the closest vocal equivalent of a female Drake. Her voice hadn't shown much of the ravages of age in the latest album, which was thirty-five years apart. It's incredibly impressive.

EDIT - I first got into her in '06 when aunt (a woman out-of-time who never moved on passed the '60s and early '70s) took me to see her. Marissa Nadler (who I adored) opened and the two sang Glow Worms together. It was phenomenal.
It startled me at first, much like Drake did so I see where you're coming from. Very keen ear for melody as well, the songs on Diamond Day strike me as quasi-lullabies at times.

Sounds like a great gig. Was this when you lived here (Montreal) or elsewhere?

[ruffian]

fuck i'm just realizing right now how frustratingly small her discography is.

[kearn1tm]

Way to jump on this bandwagon, poser! She's great, as mentioned above.

[Rawrr]

Last.fm has been recommending her to me for a while now, but I still haven't checked her out. Where to start?

[ruffian]

for the record, i've been listening to vashti since that devendra banhart comp came out 5 or so years ago. feel a strong need to defend my cred here.

and jake, i would go with her first, Just Another Diamond Day. hard to find any fault with it.

[kearn1tm]

for the record, i've been listening to vashti since that devendra banhart comp came out 5 or so years ago. feel a strong need to defend my cred here.

and jake, i would go with her first, Just Another Diamond Day. hard to find any fault with it.

Dude, I was just joking. It's good to hear discussion about Vashti.

[kearn1tm]

Last.fm has been recommending her to me for a while now, but I still haven't checked her out. Where to start?
She only has two official full-lengths and both are good. Lookaftering is a very good (decades in the making) follow-up.

[ruffian]

hey kearn i knew you were joking and i was too!!

[kearn1tm]

The quote function is fantastic, dare I say as good as listening to Vashti.

[kearn1tm]

hey kearn i knew you were joking and i was too!!
Joking so much you made sure to tell us how many years you've dug her so that we knew!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've loved her twelve years before I was even born, fucker.

[kearn1tm]

0cFlQn21vEU

My favorite track.

[IWasaCamera]

What a voice.

[eraserhead]

Just now getting into this lady, she's incredible.

[Wake Up]

blah blah blah

[eraserhead]

Her voice reminds me of early Joni Mitchell sometimes, which is awesome.

[kearn1tm]

I make the best threads. I haven't spun Just Another Diamond Day in quite some time. I'll have to rectify that soon.

[IntoTheSun]

Beautiful voice

[Rawrr]

just starting to click with me, never really liked Just Another Diamond Day the first couple of times I listened to it, but listening to it now, and every song is beautiful and great. weird.