In January 2001, Bill called me up and said, "Charo, I have found your favorite record of the year!! You are going to love this." I couldn't wait to hear it, because I can always trust Bill's taste and he is always spot on with what he recommends for me. It is a very rare and precious relationship that we have.
Anyway, this record that he informed me of was the debut record of a duo called Azure Ray. The music was dreamy, sad, and beautiful... traits important to me in my indie pop. Formerly of Bright Eyes, Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor got together with Eric Bachmann (currently of Crooked Fingers) to make their self-titled debut. The first track of Azure Ray's album, called "Sleep" became my Obsession of the Month for a good portion of the winter of 2001.
In 2005, Taylor and Fink each put out solo records. I am not sure if they officially split up, but I haven't seen an Azure Ray record since, so who knows. Although I never really warmed up to Orenda Fink's solo record, Maria Taylor's album 11:11 became one of my favorites in 2005. Her voice is so captivating and bittersweet and dreamy. The track "Song Beneath the Song" became another Obsession of the Week. (You can listen to it on her myspace page.) AND, I just read that she has a new record coming out tomorrow called Lynn Teeter Flower. Woo Hoo!!
I saw Maria Taylor at Local 506 soon after 11:11 was released and it was one of those beautifully mind-blowing shows (like that Vetiver show I saw last month). I cried. She ended her performance with an ethereal cover of "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." I just melted. It was a great show... it wasn't too crowded, not too smokey and the audience was really into it.
She is performing on Monday, March 12 at Local 506 again with the local pop group Erie Choir. That is one week from today. I hope to be blown away again.
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