Kimya Dawson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kimya Dawson
Kimya Dawson in 2003
Kimya Dawson in 2003
Background information
Born November 17, 1972 (1972-11-17) (age 35)
Genre(s) Alternative, Anti-folk
Occupation(s) Singer/songwriter
Years active 2002-present
Label(s) K, Rough Trade, Important
Associated acts Moldy Peaches, Antsy Pants
Website kimyadawson.com

Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and a prominent part of the anti-folk movement.[1]

Contents

[edit] Career

Dawson became well known as the female counterpart to Adam Green in the band The Moldy Peaches.[2] Since the Moldy Peaches went on hiatus in 2004 Dawson has released a string of lo-fi homemade albums and toured widely in North America and Europe.


Dawson recently finished work on Alphabutt, a new album of children's music she hopes to release in August 2008. Song titles include "The Alphabutt Song," "Seven Hungry Tigers," "Little Monster Babies," "Wiggle My Tooth" and "Pee Pee in the Potty," and collaborators include former Third Eye Blind guitarist Kevin Cadogan and a number of Dawson's other musical friends and their children. She has also been invited to participate in the Sesame Street television program.[3]

[edit] Soundtrack work

Dawson's songs are featured in the films "The Guatemalan Handshake" and "Glue," both of which were shown at the Olympia Film Festival in November 2007.[4]

In 2008 Dawson contributed the song "Anthrax" - about 9/11 - to the soundtrack of the Body of War documentary. [3]

6 of Dawson's solo songs (including one featuring Antsy Pants), as well as one from the Moldy Peaches, are included on the Juno soundtrack, released in December 2007.[5] [6][7] Composer Mateo Messina also based the film's score on Dawson's music.[8]

The soundtrack album, after two weeks topping Billboard's Digital Albums chart, reached #8 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release. [9] In its first full week of physical release the album sold 68,000 copies, reaching #3 on the Soundscan album chart. It missed out on the #1 spot by only 2,600 copies. [10] The following week it jumped to #2, while selling 15% fewer copies (58,000), just 2,000 copies behind first place. [11] In the album's third week of physical release it finally made the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 and Soundscan charts, selling 65,000 copies. [12]

Dawson has two new songs that were released on April 8 on a follow-up album Juno B-Sides: Almost Adopted Songs that is available on iTunes. [3]

[edit] Other collaborations

Dawson is well-connected with many other musicians, appearing in songs by Ben Kweller,[13] They Might Be Giants,[14] The Mountain Goats,[15] John Wayne Shot Me[16] and The Terrordactyls.[17] The Third Eye Blind track entitled Self-Righteous on their album, Out of the Vein features a duet with Dawson and Third Eye Blind's lead singer Stephan Jenkins.[18] Regina Spektor collaborated with Dawson on the song 'Fire' on the Hidden Vagenda album. Kimya Dawson also collaborated with fellow antifolk Jeffrey Lewis. They made a band called 'The Bundles' though released none of the songs.

[edit] Personal life

A sometime resident of Bedford Hills, New York, Dawson moved in December 2005 — with her mother, father, brother (Akida Junglefoot Dawson), and nephew — to Seattle, Washington. She is married to a musician named Angelo Spencer and on July 28, 2006, Kimya gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Panda Delilah, and moved with her new family to Olympia, Washington in November, 2006. After Panda was born, Dawson and Spencer took a break from touring for a few months, playing only occasional local shows. However, they now tour together with the baby.

Dawson has knuckle tattoos which read "LAFF LOUD". She also has a freebird tattoo on her left calf.

Dawson once started a rumour that she was a cousin of The Strokes' drummer Fabrizio Moretti, as a joke.[19]

[edit] Discography

Before The Moldy Peaches Rough Trade releases there were several homemade CDRs.

[edit] With The Moldy Peaches

[edit] Solo albums

[edit] With Antsy Pants

Antsy Pants - Kimya Dawson, Ben Lupus, Leo, Angelo Spencer, Howard Hughes, Billy Jet Pilot, Jarrod Bramson, Emily Madden, and Marie

[edit] Compilations

[edit] External links

[edit] Audio & video

[edit] Interviews

[edit] References

  1. ^ Moldy Peaches
  2. ^ The Moldy Peaches
  3. ^ a b c Graff, Gary. "Singer extends Juno buzz with kids album", Reuters/Billboard, 2008-04-02. Retrieved on 2008-04-05. 
  4. ^ Gilmore, Molly. "From K Records to the silver screen", The Olympian, 2007-12-20. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  5. ^ Sciretta, Peter. "Juno Movie Soundtrack", /film, 2007-09-11. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  6. ^ Breznican, Anthony. "More films are using one artist for music", USA Today, 2007-10-31. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  7. ^ Ellen Page Talks Juno Soundtrack, Kimya Dawson Pitchfork November 21, 2007.
  8. ^ Martens, Todd. "The quirks in Juno's score ... with audio", Los Angeles Times, 2007-12-18. Retrieved on 2007-12-19. 
  9. ^ Hasty, Katie. ""Juno" soundtrack a boost for little-known singer", Billboard, 2008-01-11. Retrieved on 2008-01-16. 
  10. ^ Gallo, Phil. "Keys returns to top of music charts", Variety, 2008-01-16. Retrieved on 2008-01-17. 
  11. ^ "Keys tops U.S. pop chart as overall sales slide", Reuters, 2008-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-01-27. 
  12. ^ Hasty, Katie. "Juno Unseats Keys From Atop Album Chart", Billboard, 2008-01-30. Retrieved on 2008-02-01. 
  13. ^ Amazon.co.uk: Sha Sha: Music: Ben Kweller
  14. ^ Amazon.com: Bed, Bed, Bed (They Might Be Giants): Books: They Might Be Giants
  15. ^ K O M A K I N O <img src=kklogo_kl.gif> - kimya dawson
  16. ^ K Artists
  17. ^ The Terrordactyls: 'Devices'. NPR Music (2008-01-18). Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  18. ^ 3EB.com | Bio
  19. ^ Dawson’s Crack (Interview w/Kimya Dawson) « MonsterFresh.com