MYSHKIN
rooted in the lowlands of europe, conceived in paris, born and raised in the cornfield flatlands of midwestern america, myshkin is a chameleonic wanderer who writes songs with a wealth of experience, an arresting helping of raw honesty, and a painter’s eye. at twenty, a theater school dropout, she took a year off to live in the woods of southern indiana, before setting off on a lifetime of travel and musical exploration. with the aid of an ever-evolving crew of genius gamblers she has used her life experience to create a music of uncommonly timeless modern sensibility.
her band myshkin’s ruby warblers was born in new orleans, a city in which she lived for nine years before moving to portland, oregon in 2002. over the years it has featured a shifting and mobile roster of acclaimed musicians playing an equally varied array of instruments. the work truly defies genre, moving as it does from folk to jazz to experimental music in concise and deliberate turns. it is myshkin’s own voice, however, that carries her astonishing writing through all of this with conviction and grace, and she wields it like a fortuneteller, an acrobat, a hunter, a gift.
with the dark power of a gypsy-torch chanteuse, and with a break that can break hearts, it is the kind of voice that combines raw power and subtle understatement in ways which make the hairs on the back of the neck bristle. she is as comfortable and spellbinding alone as she is with others on stage, hanging her hypnotic and intricate melodies as she does from the strength of her voice and words. where her 2002 album ‘rosebud bullets’ demonstrates the dark, wild side of her work, the follow-up ‘corvidae’ and her most recent e.p. ’sigh semaphore’ show a lyrical concentration on political and humanist themes, and show an artist exploring wider worlds of sound while growing ever more subtle in her art.
myshkin has released five critically acclaimed records, been honored with several music industry awards, and toured internationally for well over a decade, performing and recording with dozens of artists. she recently took time off from music to build a cob and straw bale studio in the mountains of southern oregon, and is currently working to finish her latest and most ambitious record, a bird’s eye view of ordinary, extraordinary people and their world which continues to inspire her.
myshkin’s ruby warblers have succeeded in ruining almost all other bands for me… with unmistakable vocals and complex musical arrangements, this oregon based underground legend is anything but easy listening. – bitch magazine
fiercely talented, elegantly skewed. – time out uk
darkly joyous, endlessly restless, and spell- binding. gypsy, cabaret and punk influences, and a masterfully mercurial, seductive voice. – sing out
myshkin’s voice is not to be taken lightly. a gorgeous rich alto infused with natural drama and melancholy, and best applied to her own songs: hushed one-act plays that speak volumes. – the new orleans times picayune
www.Myspace.com/RubyWarblers (my song pick: Ruby Warbler)
SPICE
