Vanessa Daou
Encyclopedia
Vanessa Daou is an American singer, songwriter, poet, visual artist and dancer. Most notably a musician, her work is known among electronica
, nu jazz
and trip hop
circles for her trademark spoken word and aspirated singing style as well as its erotic and literary subtexts.
for two years and spent several years in New York City's Hell's Kitchen area before earning a scholarship to study dance at Columbia University
. There, she would train with choreographer Eric Hawkins
and explore visual art with Barry Moser
and poetry with Kenneth Koch
, whom she cites as having sparked her interest in spoken word. Daou ultimately graduated cum laude with a visual arts and art history degree from Barnard College
/Columbia and frequently appeared in her senior year at Postcrypt Coffeehouse
, the university's on-campus poetry lounge.
) caught the attention of two NuGroove DJs, and they invited her to provide guest vocals on a developing track. The experiment led to the label's top-selling single "It Could Not Happen," which later was released on Network Records
in the United Kingdom. The Daous also performed as "Vandal" at Los Angeles' Stranger Than Fiction rave
at the Shrine Auditorium
in 1990.
, which signed her to a seven-album record deal. Vanessa, along with a five-piece band including Peter Daou on keyboards, released Head Music as The Daou
in 1992. An airy fusion of rock, jazz and funk, Head Music enjoyed moderate success and received praiseworthy reviews in the New York Times Sunday Arts & Leisure section and CREAM and Billboard
magazines. The album's first single "Surrender Yourself" was remixed by Danny Tenaglia
and reached #1 on Billboard's Dance Chart. Creative disagreements with Columbia would see Vanessa negotiate out of her contract and subsequently release Head Music's next two singles for the independent Tribal Records.
, a sexually-charged collection of pieces inspired by the work of husband Peter's aunt, the poet/novelist Erica Jong
. A slight stylistic evolution from Head Music, Zipless employed a somewhat more synthesized sound and introduced Daou's foray into recorded spoken word. The Daous released Zipless on their own label, Lotus Records. The album quickly established a cult following and attracted the attention of Bob Krasnow
, the music A&R executive whose artist signings include Anita Baker
, Björk
, Natalie Merchant
and Metallica
. Krasnow signed Vanessa to his fledgling MCA Records
subsidiary Krasnow Entertainment and re-released Zipless in 1995.
Zipless garnered favorable international press, with features and reviews in TIME, Billboard Spotlight Review, Bikini, Vibe, Wire, Mix Mag, URB, the Toronto Star
and Le Monde
magazines, among other publications. The first single, "Near the Black Forest," was featured in heavy rotation on VH1 and, along with followup single "Sunday Afternoons," enjoyed moderate radio rotation. Daou toured nationally with New York rapper Guru
and his hip hop-jazz fusion project Jazzmatazz
, playing at venues such as L.A.'s House of Blues
and Bimbo's 365 Club
in San Francisco.
, Gertrude Stein
and Frida Kahlo
, Slow To Burn enjoyed moderate to heavy smooth jazz format radio play with its first single "Two to Tango." It was featured in reviews in VIBE, URB, Billboard, Curve
, and Cover magazines. Two to Tango was remixed by Danny Tenaglia and reached the top of Billboard's Dance Chart, remaining at #1 for three weeks. It was featured in the Matthew Perry
film Fools Rush In. Two other songs from the album,"If I Could (What I Would Do For You)" and "How Do You Feel?," were featured in the films An American Werewolf in Paris
and Idle Hands
, respectively.
In the winter of 1996 Seagram
took over MCA and Doug Morris, a reputed adversary of Bob Krasnow, became president of the record label. Krasnow soon retired and folded his namesake label. Daou chose to leave as well, and negotiated out of her contract with MCA.
/Handprint Entertainment, she released 1997's dancy, cosmic exploration-themed Plutonium Glow, on her own DaouMusic label. The project was one of the earliest albums by a former major-label artist to be marketed and sold on the internet. The online release was followed by a 1998 UK re-release by independent international distributor Oxygen Music Works
. This latter version featured an alternate song sequencing and a new track, "Alive," in place of "Visions of You."
Artwork from the Plutonium Glow era was showcased in an exhibit called "Plutonium Show" at Untitled (SPACE) Gallery in New Haven, Conn. A piece from the show entitled "Music Box" subsequently went on for display at a National Arts Club
student exhibition, securing the Jeffrey Seyfert Memorial Prize.
met with warm reception by fans, but sparse marketing, press, club and radio support.
in France. Generally positive reviews for Make You Love were featured in Le Monde, Elle
, Magic, and Billbard Spotlight Review, and many critics received the album as Daou's most pop-oriented. The album's song "Julliette" was used in a scene for U.S. television series Dawson's Creek
; the single "A Little Bit of Pain" was used in Lifetime TV movie Sex, Lies and Obsession; and in the fall of 2000 Daou promoted the project as guest on a seven-week concert tour of France by pop vocalist Etienne Daho
. The song "Make Believe" from Plutonium Glow was re-recorded as a duet with Daho for his Corps et armes album.
, but Daou would devote this time largely to visual arts, writing and academic pursuits.
-era password to enter red-light district
clubs.
Several pivotal moments during Daou's hiatus would shape her new output—the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York, where she remains a resident; an apparent split in 2004 from husband Peter; and inspiring travel experiences among them.
Daou says of the project:
On May 19, 2008, audio clips, lyrics and interactive graphic content heralding Joe Sent Me premiered on the website for the Barcelona Poetry Symposium. The material thereafter became available on Daou's own site, and the album itself was released in November 2008 via Daou's online marketplace, daourecords.com. In May 2009, a program of original dances based on the music of Joe Sent Me debuted at Mercer County Community College
's Kelsey Theatre, performed by the school's Mercer Dance Ensemble.
/Radio Art
-format Resonance 104.4 FM
.
Composed around the themes "Dream," "Snow," "Shadow" and "Night," the poems that comprise Love Among the Shadowed Things are stream-of-consciousness collages of spoken word, sparse free jazz
accompaniment and thickly layered sound effects. Daou describes this aural meditation on a particular December night as a juxtapositioning of things "secular and temporal ... familiar ... mystifying ... universal and eternal."
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, nu jazz
Nu jazz
Nu jazz is an umbrella term coined in the late 1990s to refer to music that blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, soul, electronic dance music, and free improvisation...
and trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
circles for her trademark spoken word and aspirated singing style as well as its erotic and literary subtexts.
Formative years
Daou was born and spent her early childhood in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, relocating in 1984 to attend boarding school in Massachusetts. As a young adult, she attended Vassar CollegeVassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
for two years and spent several years in New York City's Hell's Kitchen area before earning a scholarship to study dance at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. There, she would train with choreographer Eric Hawkins
Erick Hawkins
Frederick Hawkins known as Erick Hawkins was a leading American modern-dance choreographer and dancer...
and explore visual art with Barry Moser
Barry Moser
Barry Moser is a renowned artist, most famous as a printmaker and illustrator of numerous works of literature.Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1940, Moser studied at the Baylor School, Auburn University, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and did graduate work at the University of...
and poetry with Kenneth Koch
Kenneth Koch
Kenneth Koch was an American poet, playwright, and professor, active from the 1950s until his death at age 77...
, whom she cites as having sparked her interest in spoken word. Daou ultimately graduated cum laude with a visual arts and art history degree from Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
/Columbia and frequently appeared in her senior year at Postcrypt Coffeehouse
Postcrypt Coffeehouse
Postcrypt Coffeehouse is an all-acoustic music venue in the basement of St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University in New York City, run completely by students. Founded in 1964, Postcrypt has hosted many up-and-coming folk musicians, including Jeff Buckley, Dar Williams, Shawn Colvin, and Ani DiFranco...
, the university's on-campus poetry lounge.
Early recordings
While still a student, Daou began her career recording for NuGroove Records, one of New York's seminal underground electronica labels. Demos that Daou had recorded with new husband/producer/musical collaborator Peter Daou (a nephew of novelist Erica JongErica Jong
Erica Jong is an American author and teacher best known for her fiction and poetry.-Career:A 1963 graduate of Barnard College, and with an M.A...
) caught the attention of two NuGroove DJs, and they invited her to provide guest vocals on a developing track. The experiment led to the label's top-selling single "It Could Not Happen," which later was released on Network Records
Network Records
Network Records was a rave music independent record label, based in Birmingham, England, during the late 1980s and mid 1990s.The label concentrated on bringing Garage music to Britain & taking UK House music to a new level as well as playing a massive role in the development of Early Hardcore and...
in the United Kingdom. The Daous also performed as "Vandal" at Los Angeles' Stranger Than Fiction rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
at the Shrine Auditorium
Shrine Auditorium
The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue, in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners.-History:...
in 1990.
Head Music
Daou's underground success brought her to the attention of Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, which signed her to a seven-album record deal. Vanessa, along with a five-piece band including Peter Daou on keyboards, released Head Music as The Daou
The Daou
The Daou was a New York-based dance music duo consisting of husband-and-wife Peter and Vanessa Daou. Their only album Head Music was released in 1992. The single "Surrender Yourself" went to number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. The pair subsequently performed under her name alone, and...
in 1992. An airy fusion of rock, jazz and funk, Head Music enjoyed moderate success and received praiseworthy reviews in the New York Times Sunday Arts & Leisure section and CREAM and Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazines. The album's first single "Surrender Yourself" was remixed by Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia is a New York-based DJ and Grammy nominated record producer.-Early life:At the age of ten, Tenaglia first started to collect records. In 1979 he began going to nightclub Paradise Garage, where DJ Larry Levan's genre-less blend of music appealed to him...
and reached #1 on Billboard's Dance Chart. Creative disagreements with Columbia would see Vanessa negotiate out of her contract and subsequently release Head Music's next two singles for the independent Tribal Records.
Zipless
In 1994 Daou, now billed as a solo act, recorded ZiplessZipless
Zipless is the first solo album by singer Vanessa Daou, released in 1994.-Track listing:#"The Long Tunnel Of Wanting You"#"Dear Anne Sexton"#"Alcestis On The Poetry Circuit"#"Sunday Afternoons"#"Autumn Perspective"#"Near The Black Forest"...
, a sexually-charged collection of pieces inspired by the work of husband Peter's aunt, the poet/novelist Erica Jong
Erica Jong
Erica Jong is an American author and teacher best known for her fiction and poetry.-Career:A 1963 graduate of Barnard College, and with an M.A...
. A slight stylistic evolution from Head Music, Zipless employed a somewhat more synthesized sound and introduced Daou's foray into recorded spoken word. The Daous released Zipless on their own label, Lotus Records. The album quickly established a cult following and attracted the attention of Bob Krasnow
Bob Krasnow
Bob Krasnow is a leading music industry entrepreneur. His early career included working as a promotions man for James Brown and sales representative for Decca Records. In the early 1960s, Krasnow founded MK Records, which released the novelty record "," a parody of the 1960 presidential campaign...
, the music A&R executive whose artist signings include Anita Baker
Anita Baker
Anita Baker is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit....
, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Natalie Merchant
Natalie Merchant
Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...
and Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
. Krasnow signed Vanessa to his fledgling MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
subsidiary Krasnow Entertainment and re-released Zipless in 1995.
Zipless garnered favorable international press, with features and reviews in TIME, Billboard Spotlight Review, Bikini, Vibe, Wire, Mix Mag, URB, the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
and Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
magazines, among other publications. The first single, "Near the Black Forest," was featured in heavy rotation on VH1 and, along with followup single "Sunday Afternoons," enjoyed moderate radio rotation. Daou toured nationally with New York rapper Guru
Guru (rapper)
Keith Edward Elam , better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts...
and his hip hop-jazz fusion project Jazzmatazz
Jazzmatazz
Jazzmatazz may be a reference to:An album from the Jazzmatazz series of hip hop and jazz recordings from Guru , including:* Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1* Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality* Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Street Soul...
, playing at venues such as L.A.'s House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
and Bimbo's 365 Club
Bimbo's 365 Club
Bimbo's 365 Club, also known as Bimbo's 365, is an entertainment club located at 1025 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco, California. It specializes in live rock and jazz shows. The location is one of San Francisco's oldest nightclub sites, and has operated under two names with a series of owners...
in San Francisco.
Slow To Burn
In 1995 MCA underwent significant management changes, at which time the company faltered on the momentum that had been building for several months around Zipless. Vanessa recorded a sophomore solo album, Slow To Burn, and released it in the Fall of that year. With each song a vignette inspired by the biographies of such celebrated female artisans as Billie HolidayBillie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
and Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
, Slow To Burn enjoyed moderate to heavy smooth jazz format radio play with its first single "Two to Tango." It was featured in reviews in VIBE, URB, Billboard, Curve
Curve (magazine)
Curve is a lesbian magazine in the United States. It covers news, politics, social issues, and includes celebrity interviews and stories on entertainment, pop culture, style, travel, and a website that hosts an internet forum focusing on lesbian issues, active since 2000.The magazine was first...
, and Cover magazines. Two to Tango was remixed by Danny Tenaglia and reached the top of Billboard's Dance Chart, remaining at #1 for three weeks. It was featured in the Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry (actor)
Matthew Langford Perry is a Canadian-American actor and comedian, best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Chandler Bing on the popular, long-running NBC television sitcom Friends...
film Fools Rush In. Two other songs from the album,"If I Could (What I Would Do For You)" and "How Do You Feel?," were featured in the films An American Werewolf in Paris
An American Werewolf in Paris
An American Werewolf in Paris is a 1997 horror/comedy film about werewolves. It was directed by Anthony Waller and stars Tom Everett Scott and Julie Delpy...
and Idle Hands
Idle Hands
Idle Hands is a 1999 horror comedy film directed by Rodman Flender, written by Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer, and starring Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, and Vivica A. Fox...
, respectively.
In the winter of 1996 Seagram
Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures...
took over MCA and Doug Morris, a reputed adversary of Bob Krasnow, became president of the record label. Krasnow soon retired and folded his namesake label. Daou chose to leave as well, and negotiated out of her contract with MCA.
Plutonium Glow
Over the next couple years Daou again chose to release her records independently. With some support from Benny MedinaBenny Medina
Benny Medina is the CEO of The Medina Company and son of legendary Jazz drummer Ahmad "Benny" Medina. He has worked in the music business as a producer, talent manager and record executive...
/Handprint Entertainment, she released 1997's dancy, cosmic exploration-themed Plutonium Glow, on her own DaouMusic label. The project was one of the earliest albums by a former major-label artist to be marketed and sold on the internet. The online release was followed by a 1998 UK re-release by independent international distributor Oxygen Music Works
Oxygen Music Works
Oxygen Music Works, or OMW, was an Anglo-American independent record label. Founded in 1991 by Andy Shih, its initial, occasional releases focused on the sounds of the then-thriving New York underground house music scene. By the time of its last release in 2001, the label's roster had expanded to...
. This latter version featured an alternate song sequencing and a new track, "Alive," in place of "Visions of You."
Artwork from the Plutonium Glow era was showcased in an exhibit called "Plutonium Show" at Untitled (SPACE) Gallery in New Haven, Conn. A piece from the show entitled "Music Box" subsequently went on for display at a National Arts Club
National Arts Club
The National Arts Club is a private club in Gramercy Park, New York City, New York, USA. It was founded in 1898 to "stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts". Since 1906 the organization has occupied the Samuel J...
student exhibition, securing the Jeffrey Seyfert Memorial Prize.
Dear John Coltrane
In 1999, Daou released Dear John Coltrane on the Oxygen imprint. Somewhat more heady and nostalgic in the vein of Slow to Burn than danceable like Plutonium Glow, the homage to the legendary jazz saxophonistJohn Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
met with warm reception by fans, but sparse marketing, press, club and radio support.
Make You Love
Daou's next album Make You Love, inspired by the travails of a girlfriend living in Paris, was co-released in 2000 on Daou's own label imprint and EMIEMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in France. Generally positive reviews for Make You Love were featured in Le Monde, Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, Magic, and Billbard Spotlight Review, and many critics received the album as Daou's most pop-oriented. The album's song "Julliette" was used in a scene for U.S. television series Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
; the single "A Little Bit of Pain" was used in Lifetime TV movie Sex, Lies and Obsession; and in the fall of 2000 Daou promoted the project as guest on a seven-week concert tour of France by pop vocalist Etienne Daho
Étienne Daho
Étienne Daho is a French singer, songwriter and record producer who has released a number of synth-driven and rock-surf influenced pop hit singles since 1981.- Career :...
. The song "Make Believe" from Plutonium Glow was re-recorded as a duet with Daho for his Corps et armes album.
Hiatus and return
On the heels of Make You Love, Daou would take a seven-year hiatus from releasing new material. Her catalog was tapped for various music compilations and for the soundtrack to 2005 French film Lila SaysLila Says
Lila Says is a 2004 French film directed by Ziad Doueiri. The plot is based on the novel of the same title written by "Chimo" .-Plot:...
, but Daou would devote this time largely to visual arts, writing and academic pursuits.
Joe Sent Me
In 2007, Daou announced on her official website that some of her work during this time was being compiled for an upcoming multimedia project, introduced under the working title Then, at Midnight. The project, ostensibly a new music album with related graphical content, ultimately would undergo a name change to Joe Sent Me, a nod to the popular U.S. ProhibitionProhibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
-era password to enter red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
clubs.
Several pivotal moments during Daou's hiatus would shape her new output—the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York, where she remains a resident; an apparent split in 2004 from husband Peter; and inspiring travel experiences among them.
Daou says of the project:
The Idea behind Joe Sent Me was inspired by a recent walk in New York City's Times Square, and my memory of a trip I made to Barcelona in 2006. What I remember most about the city was its uniquely dynamic and vibrant clash of the myriad sounds of the Spanish language, the co-mingling of its cultures and countries....I've created Joe Sent Me to reflect the way my mind reconstructs my memory of Barcelona.... the aim is to break down each poem into its component parts: word/page, sound/mouth, structure/form, rhythm/repetition, reader/interpreter, eye/viewer, meaning/intonation, imagination/interpretation.
On May 19, 2008, audio clips, lyrics and interactive graphic content heralding Joe Sent Me premiered on the website for the Barcelona Poetry Symposium. The material thereafter became available on Daou's own site, and the album itself was released in November 2008 via Daou's online marketplace, daourecords.com. In May 2009, a program of original dances based on the music of Joe Sent Me debuted at Mercer County Community College
Mercer County Community College
Mercer County Community College is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public, community college located in Mercer County, New Jersey. The school's current president is Dr. Patricia C. Donohue...
's Kelsey Theatre, performed by the school's Mercer Dance Ensemble.
Love Among the Shadowed Thing
On Jan. 31, 2010, a collection of four tone poems from Daou, collectively titled Love Among the Shadowed Things, debuted on the seasonal Weird Tales for Winter segment of Jonny Mugwump & The Exotic Pylon, an experimental radio series broadcasting on London's community radioCommunity radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
/Radio Art
Radio art
Radio art refers to the use of radio for art. "Radio Art implies that the artist who works in, and with, radio is not necessarily a trained DJ, programmer, producer, engineer, or personality, but one who uses sound to make art and seeks ways to transit it through radio as art...
-format Resonance 104.4 FM
Resonance FM
Resonance 104.4 FM is a London based non-profit community radio station run by the London Musicians' Collective .The station is staffed by four permanent staff members, including programme controller Ed Baxter and over 300 volunteer technical and production staff.Until September 2007, ResonanceFM...
.
Composed around the themes "Dream," "Snow," "Shadow" and "Night," the poems that comprise Love Among the Shadowed Things are stream-of-consciousness collages of spoken word, sparse free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
accompaniment and thickly layered sound effects. Daou describes this aural meditation on a particular December night as a juxtapositioning of things "secular and temporal ... familiar ... mystifying ... universal and eternal."
Albums
- Head Music (with The Daou) - 1992
- ZiplessZiplessZipless is the first solo album by singer Vanessa Daou, released in 1994.-Track listing:#"The Long Tunnel Of Wanting You"#"Dear Anne Sexton"#"Alcestis On The Poetry Circuit"#"Sunday Afternoons"#"Autumn Perspective"#"Near The Black Forest"...
- 1994 - Slow to Burn - 1995
- Plutonium Glow - 1997/1998 (two releases)
- Dear John Coltrane - 1999
- Make You Love - 2000
- Joe Sent Me - 2008
Singles
- Near The Black Forest
- Sunday Afternoons
- Two To Tango
- How Do You Feel
- A Little Bit Of Pain
- Consequences
- Heart Of Wax