Kristin Diable
Shelter
© 2005 Kristin Diable (783707215709)
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Understated-roots-blues-backporch-soul-via-Louisiana.
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"SHELTER" - the long awaited first full length record from musician Kristin Diable. Features a lush array of styles and sounds ranging from backporch folk to gospel-organ soul. A significant leap forward from her previous EP "As You Were" released two years ago (at the ripe age of 20), the Shelter LP is firmly rooted in full band arrangements and sonic exploration (including string-quartet, slide guitar, organ, and very electric guitars).
The record features Stephen Chopek (John Mayer, Norah Jones) and Tracy Civello (ex. Civello, Sony) as well as fellow Baton Rouge ex patriots Poor Harvey. The result is a punchier sound that's closer to rock and blues than folk ballads. "I knew I wanted it to be a great record when we went in, but I didn't know what kind of record it will be. It's not singer songwriter folksy, there's a lot of rock in this record. I mean the song, Black Plague for example, it hits you as a pretty straight ahead rock-pop song, but listen to that electric guitar riff, that's some fucking rock n' roll."
'Shelter' was co-produced by Paul Johnson (Poor Harvey), Tracy Civello, and Diable, and was mastered by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Sheryl Crow, Whites Stripes) at Masterdisk, NYC.
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Biography:
When Kristin Diable says she plays "roots music," she is as much describing an approach as a genre. Her stripped down brand of songwriting has been compared to that of Lucinda Williams, Neil Young and Janis Joplin.
Since uprooting from her hometown, Baton Rouge, LA to relocate to Manhattan's East Village in 2003, Kristin Diable has taken on life with a truly troubadour spirit. Kristin has toured extensively, cris-crossing the country, often sleeping in the back of a mini-van with her pet Chihuahua, Cash, named for the man in black.
In her time on the road, Kristin has developed not only the ability to write memorable songs, but a reason for doing so. "Music turns on something that doesn't usually get turned on. 98 percent of life is so mundane. It's 'Hi, how are you? Thanks. Yes. No. Would you like bottled or tap? Pay the bills, take out the garbage, call your mother.' But with music, you get to a place where you are so in the moment that everyday concerns don't really matter anymore. You remember there are bigger things happening. The music is more brilliant than what we perceive on an average day."
Her talents have not gone unrecognized. In February of 2004 George Stein (Jeff Buckley, Lou Reed, the B-52s) signed on as her manager. After garnering interest from multiple labels, and meeting with several major label presidents (Donny Ienner, Sony and Jason Flom, Atlantic) she decided to release Shelter (tbr October 2005) on her own independent label, Speakeasy Records. "I could have waited for a label to sign me up to put out my first full length record, but the songs were there and it was time for this to happen now. If you don't work with the musical muse, she gets fickle. It was a huge undertaking for one person to make a record from finding the musicians, booking the studio, scheduling flights, to working with the artist on the album cover, to pressing the discs. There were plenty of points where I tried to wean myself off of music entirely; exhausted by the tedious tasks to get the record in the nice-shiny-shrink-wrapped format it's in now. But I've always learned best by just doing things. I don't work well with instructions, so this really was the best possible way for me to really learn all the ins and outs of the process of making a real record. And for me to be able to do it on my own terms, and learn from my own mistakes. It's all about learning."
Shelter is a departure from the solo-acoustic sound that had
characterized Diable's previous efforts. "I've been playing with a lot of other musicians. Before, I wrote more in a singer/songwriter vein because there was no band to play with. Working with other musicians has opened up the door to being able to write a song with more space to be fleshed out in a band dynamic."
Diable's current live show features many the songs from the 'Shelter' record, in addition to newer material that hints at her continued development as a great songwriter, mature beyond her twenty-two years. Able to make social and political statements in songs such as "Dear America" "Just Know That My Soul Will be Free" and "Handsome Young Men," she has grasped the ability to make stories of other people's lives feel personal and compelling- her audiences, hanging on to every rise and fall, waiting for their resolution. These performances often transcend the mundane of the characters in the song, the audience, and even the artist herself.
There are absolutely 'bigger things happening' and Diable delivers this sentiment with fervor. Currently Kristin Diable is on tour with her Mid-City Militia band and solo, promoting the 'Shelter' LP.
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In regular rotation!
author: AlexaI heard "Sister Sadie" on the radio and had to find out where to get more. The rest of the record is really great. Some of the songs are high energy, and some are soft and sweet, a great mix, and a great cd. Thanks for the music. I'm definitely a new fan.
A real record!
author: TommyJust got my hands on the new CD from Ms. Diable. Wow. I'm more than impressed. It's a great record from start to finish. Can't stop listening to it. Looking forward to what's to come!