Vetiver
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May 13th, 2008 - Berkeley
Centered around the delicate voice and guitar playing of songwriter Andy Cabic, Vetiver is fleshed out with an ever-changing and hugely talented line up, aided and abetted by some of the finest players (and usually best friends) in the extended family Andy finds himself a member of.
Andy grew up in Northern Virginia and went to school in North Carolina, where he spent several years playing in the band, The Raymond Brake. They recorded one album and an EP (on Secret Machines and Hepcat records) that married experimental rock with touches of melodic, classic pop. Following their dissolution in the late 1990s, Andy moved to San Francisco where he continued writing and soon gathered together musicians including violinist Jim Gaylord, cellist Alissa Anderson, and singer-songwriter friend Devendra Banhart (who has co-written tracks with Andy, and regularly performs live as a band member), and thus Vetiver was born.
Nearly four years in the making, Vetiver’s self-titled debut (released on SF label Dicristina Stairbuilders) was an incredibly beautiful and diverse record released amongst a slew of other singer-songwriter / ‘out folk’ releases in late 2004, and rapidly became one of the most consistently played records in the Fatcat office. With songs diverse in range, gorgeously arranged and lingering long in the memory, it stood out to us as one of 2004’s finest releases, and additional players on the album included Andy’s friends Joanna Newsom (harp), Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval (vocals), and My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig (drums).
Since that opening album, Andy has spent long stints on the road, touring occasionally with Vetiver, and regularly as a member of Devendra’s band, in which he has become a fixture. Written and recorded in free time during that period of intense touring, and released in June 2006, the follow-up album, ‘To Find Me Gone’ is a freer and more mature effort, markedly shifting Vetiver’s sound into a different direction. Lyrically, it’s very much a "road" record, about travel and distances, comings and goings, people falling in and out of lives and wondering where the time goes. Moving away from folk references and the simpler minimalism of the first album, there is more of a West Cost ‘70s feel evident on the new record. With a focused depth and controlled studio-led expansiveness, the arrangements are significantly different, utilizing greater instrumentation and a broader range, including screaming electric guitar solos, pedal steel, layered strings, and electronic flourishes, alongside songs that wouldn't sound amiss on the first album. Alongside Cabic, the players on this album included mainstays Devendra, Alissa Anderson, Otto Hauser (drums), and Kevin Barker (guitar).
January 2008 sees the release of Vetiver's first release for 18 months, in the form of a 12-inch containing remixes of two of the key tracks from 'To Find Me Gone'. Remixed by Neighbours (the duo of Cabic and producer Tom Monahan), the two tracks - 'You May Be Blue' and 'Been So Long' - take Vetiver into something more of a deconstructive, electronic territory, whilst ushering a new period of productivity for the band. 2008 will also see the release of an album and EP of cover versions of the band's favorite tracks, as well as a renewed period of touring, and the recording of a brand new album.
Based around lush, acoustic textures; simple yet charming, effective arrangements; and a core of really strong writing, Vetiver's sound takes influence from a deep well of influences - late-'60s pastoral folk, tropicalia, '70s west coast rock, and much more beyond. Andy has stated a love of Brazilian music, the Carter Family, Brightblack, Randy Newman, and Kelley Stoltz, Fleetwood Mac, Bobby Charles, Jerry Jeff Walker, the Velvet Underground, Neil Young, Nilsson, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. But as Andy will tell you himself, these are simply loose reference points. Vetiver's is an inventive yet well-anchored presence - fragile sounding but strong, warm and beautifully layered, and these two albums confirm him as one of his generations’ most talented songwriters.
Andy grew up in Northern Virginia and went to school in North Carolina, where he spent several years playing in the band, The Raymond Brake. They recorded one album and an EP (on Secret Machines and Hepcat records) that married experimental rock with touches of melodic, classic pop. Following their dissolution in the late 1990s, Andy moved to San Francisco where he continued writing and soon gathered together musicians including violinist Jim Gaylord, cellist Alissa Anderson, and singer-songwriter friend Devendra Banhart (who has co-written tracks with Andy, and regularly performs live as a band member), and thus Vetiver was born.
Nearly four years in the making, Vetiver’s self-titled debut (released on SF label Dicristina Stairbuilders) was an incredibly beautiful and diverse record released amongst a slew of other singer-songwriter / ‘out folk’ releases in late 2004, and rapidly became one of the most consistently played records in the Fatcat office. With songs diverse in range, gorgeously arranged and lingering long in the memory, it stood out to us as one of 2004’s finest releases, and additional players on the album included Andy’s friends Joanna Newsom (harp), Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval (vocals), and My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig (drums).
Since that opening album, Andy has spent long stints on the road, touring occasionally with Vetiver, and regularly as a member of Devendra’s band, in which he has become a fixture. Written and recorded in free time during that period of intense touring, and released in June 2006, the follow-up album, ‘To Find Me Gone’ is a freer and more mature effort, markedly shifting Vetiver’s sound into a different direction. Lyrically, it’s very much a "road" record, about travel and distances, comings and goings, people falling in and out of lives and wondering where the time goes. Moving away from folk references and the simpler minimalism of the first album, there is more of a West Cost ‘70s feel evident on the new record. With a focused depth and controlled studio-led expansiveness, the arrangements are significantly different, utilizing greater instrumentation and a broader range, including screaming electric guitar solos, pedal steel, layered strings, and electronic flourishes, alongside songs that wouldn't sound amiss on the first album. Alongside Cabic, the players on this album included mainstays Devendra, Alissa Anderson, Otto Hauser (drums), and Kevin Barker (guitar).
January 2008 sees the release of Vetiver's first release for 18 months, in the form of a 12-inch containing remixes of two of the key tracks from 'To Find Me Gone'. Remixed by Neighbours (the duo of Cabic and producer Tom Monahan), the two tracks - 'You May Be Blue' and 'Been So Long' - take Vetiver into something more of a deconstructive, electronic territory, whilst ushering a new period of productivity for the band. 2008 will also see the release of an album and EP of cover versions of the band's favorite tracks, as well as a renewed period of touring, and the recording of a brand new album.
Based around lush, acoustic textures; simple yet charming, effective arrangements; and a core of really strong writing, Vetiver's sound takes influence from a deep well of influences - late-'60s pastoral folk, tropicalia, '70s west coast rock, and much more beyond. Andy has stated a love of Brazilian music, the Carter Family, Brightblack, Randy Newman, and Kelley Stoltz, Fleetwood Mac, Bobby Charles, Jerry Jeff Walker, the Velvet Underground, Neil Young, Nilsson, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. But as Andy will tell you himself, these are simply loose reference points. Vetiver's is an inventive yet well-anchored presence - fragile sounding but strong, warm and beautifully layered, and these two albums confirm him as one of his generations’ most talented songwriters.
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