Unwoman
Encyclopedia
Unwoman is a solo artist from San Francisco, California
. Musician Erica Mulkey (born September 26, 1980) mixes cello
and vocals with electronic
influences. The music she creates is difficult to label with an established genre, but contains characteristics of synth pop and goth
. Russian goth web-zine Shadowplay describes her music as "dark trip wave."
Mulkey began playing cello at nine years of age and piano at eleven. At sixteen she studied music at a local community college, where she composed music that incorporated cello, piano, and voice. She attended UC Santa Cruz
and earned a BA in music with a concentration in electronic music.
Her debut album, Knowledge Scars (2002), was well-received as a tribute to a wide range of musical influences, with covers of songs by Kate Bush
, Crass
, and The Cure
, that was presented in a dark, electronic style. Matthew Heilman of starvox.net writes that "[h]er style ranges from a kind of experimental trip hop to swirling darkwave atmosphere with just enough static and noise to give it that extra technical punch." http://starvox.net/crypt/3august2.htm
In the summer of 2006, Unwoman toured briefly with the cello rock group Rasputina
, filling in as second chair. The following year Mulkey contributed to Attrition
's album All mine enemys whispers - the Story of Mary Ann Cotton. In the spring of 2009, she toured briefly with Voltaire
on his To the Bottom of the Sea
tour. Mulkey is a regular live guest with Vernian Process
and has also enjoyed a brief stint with HUMANWINE
, as well as fronting a Siouxsie and the Banshees cover band Spellbound.
Unwoman released her album The Keys as a preview of her upcoming album Casualties. Casualties was officially released on April 28, 2010; however its ship date was set for May 4, 2010. Casualties is also available as an instant download. To create interest in the album, Unwoman has been performing live concerts via Ustream. On March 24, Amanda Palmer
mentioned Unwoman via Twitter, bringing Unwoman an influx of new fans.
The name "Unwoman" comes from Margaret Atwood
's dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale
, and refers to the label given to sterile, feminist, or politically deviant women.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Musician Erica Mulkey (born September 26, 1980) mixes cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and vocals with electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
influences. The music she creates is difficult to label with an established genre, but contains characteristics of synth pop and goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
. Russian goth web-zine Shadowplay describes her music as "dark trip wave."
Mulkey began playing cello at nine years of age and piano at eleven. At sixteen she studied music at a local community college, where she composed music that incorporated cello, piano, and voice. She attended UC Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
and earned a BA in music with a concentration in electronic music.
Her debut album, Knowledge Scars (2002), was well-received as a tribute to a wide range of musical influences, with covers of songs by Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Crass
Crass
Crass are an English punk rock band that was formed in 1977, which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement. Crass popularised the seminal anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, and advocated direct action, animal rights, and environmentalism...
, and The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, that was presented in a dark, electronic style. Matthew Heilman of starvox.net writes that "[h]er style ranges from a kind of experimental trip hop to swirling darkwave atmosphere with just enough static and noise to give it that extra technical punch." http://starvox.net/crypt/3august2.htm
In the summer of 2006, Unwoman toured briefly with the cello rock group Rasputina
Rasputina
Rasputina is a cello-driven band based in New York that is renowned for their unconventional and quirky music style as well as their fascination with historical allegories and fashion, especially those pertaining to the Victorian era....
, filling in as second chair. The following year Mulkey contributed to Attrition
Attrition (band)
Attrition are an electronic music band, formed in Coventry, England in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Niblock. The band emerged from the experimental post-punk scene of the early 1980s and, along with other groups such as Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, and In the Nursery, greatly...
's album All mine enemys whispers - the Story of Mary Ann Cotton. In the spring of 2009, she toured briefly with Voltaire
Voltaire (musician)
Voltaire , is a popular dark cabaret Cuban-American musician...
on his To the Bottom of the Sea
To the Bottom of the Sea
To the Bottom of the Sea is the sixth studio album by Cuban American dark cabaret/Dark Wave singer Voltaire. It was released in 2008, and it was Voltaire's first album to be released via his own label Mars Needs Music, since his contract with Projekt Records expired the year before.It was the first...
tour. Mulkey is a regular live guest with Vernian Process
Vernian Process
Vernian Process is an Avant-Garde band formed in San Francisco in 2003. Taking its name from the works of 19th century author Jules Verne, Vernian Process is a band that creates music themed around Victorian scientific romance and its modern counterpart steampunk...
and has also enjoyed a brief stint with HUMANWINE
H.U.M.A.N.W.I.N.E.
H.U.M.A.N.W.I.N.E. is a band based out of Boston, Massachusetts. Their name is an acronym of the phrase, "Humans Underground Making Anagrams Nightly While Imperial Not-Mes Enslave". This is a reference to the subtly-coded lyrics that comprise most of their songs...
, as well as fronting a Siouxsie and the Banshees cover band Spellbound.
Unwoman released her album The Keys as a preview of her upcoming album Casualties. Casualties was officially released on April 28, 2010; however its ship date was set for May 4, 2010. Casualties is also available as an instant download. To create interest in the album, Unwoman has been performing live concerts via Ustream. On March 24, Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
mentioned Unwoman via Twitter, bringing Unwoman an influx of new fans.
The name "Unwoman" comes from Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
's dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative fiction, written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1985...
, and refers to the label given to sterile, feminist, or politically deviant women.
Discography
- Knowledge Scars Unmediated Productions, 2002
- Wildness & Artifice Unmediated Productions, 2005
- Blossoms Unmediated Productions, 2007
- Trouble Unmediated Productions, October 2008
- The Keys October 2009
- Casualties Unmediated Productions, April 2010