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Amelia Meath

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Meath performing in Sylvan Esso in 2017

Amelia Randall Meath (born July 2, 1988) is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and dancer who is a member of the musical groups Sylvan Esso and Mountain Man. She is based in Durham, North Carolina.[1]

Career

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Mountain Man (2010–present)

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Meath formed folk trio Mountain Man alongside Molly Sarlé and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig in 2010, while all three were students at Bennington College.[2] They initially self-released their debut album, Made the Harbor in 2010 via Myspace, to acclaim, with Meath at the helm as the band's manager. Leslie Feist noticed their work and invited them on an international tour as back-up singers.[3]

After a hiatus, Mountain Man's second album, Magic Ship, was released in 2018. The trio also maintains the recurring Mountain Man Sings... singles series, in which they have covered John Denver,[4] Neil Young,[5] Kacey Musgraves,[6] and more.

NPR has described the trio's music as existing in "a timeless space where three voices are all you need to be transported someplace wonderful."[7]

Sylvan Esso (2013–present)

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In 2013, Meath approached musician Nick Sanborn to ask him to remix Mountain Man's "Play It Right" track, which Meath had written. The duo realized their styles meshed and decided to form Sylvan Esso.[8] Meath is the project's vocalist, lyricist, and co-producer in the project.

Sylvan Esso's self-titled debut album was released May 12, 2014 via Partisan Records.[9] The duo's self-titled 2014 debut paired Meath's "secretive, intimate" songwriting with Sanborn's propulsive and sticky production, and they found immediate success; they were quickly selling out clubs around the country and booking major festivals like Bonnaroo, Firefly, and Austin City Limits.[10]

Their sophomore LP, What Now, was released April 28, 2017 via Loma Vista Recordings. The album was a success. Josh Modell of The A.V. Club called the album "brilliant" and "a record so good it answers its own title question and makes you eager to ask it again."[11] What Now went on to receive a Grammy nomination in the category "Best Dance/Electronic Album".[12] They continued to tour extensively.

In November 2019, Sylvan Esso launched their limited-run WITH tour in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, and Durham, NC.[13] In the expanded band, Meath and Sanborn were joined by Meg Duffy, Molly Sarlé, Daughter of Swords, Jenn Wasner, Dev Gupta, Adam Schatz, Matt McCaughan, and Joe Westerlund. A live concert documentary of the Durham show was released on YouTube on April 23, 2020, followed by the surprise release of the full-length live album, also titled WITH.[14]

Meath and Sanborn's third full-length LP, Free Love, was released September 25, 2020 via Loma Vista Recordings, to positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly described the album as "..somehow prescient and nostalgic in the same breath. It traffics in intimacy and self-preservation in the face of opening oneself up to love."[15]

Following their concert stream series FROM THE SATELLITE, on December 2, 2020, Sylvan Esso surprise-released WITH LOVE, a 10-piece "dream team" band featuring most of the players from WITH.[16]

In a 2020 interview with THEM, Meath explained Sylvan Esso's sound, "We always make records about how the world is dying. They're sad songs that sound really happy."[17]

Other work

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In 2018, she and Phil Cook cowrote and released the duet "Miles Away." Her vocals on the outro are all from the first take in the studio.[18]

In 2020, Meath performed as the guest vocalist on Local Natives' "Dark Days" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!,[19] and then wrote a new verse for the track while collaborating with the band on a new studio version. Local Natives explained: “Despite the looming anxiety of those final pre-quarantine days, that [Kimmel] felt especially cathartic for us and was made all the more poignant by having Amelia on stage with us. She not only lent us her incredible voice but she wrote a beautiful new verse that taps into the nostalgia and the longing we all feel for a different time.”[20]

In 2022, Meath and Mountain Man bandmate Sauser-Monnig formed The A's, who released their debut album, Fruit, in July 2022.[21]

Artistry

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Of her unique singing voice, Meath has explained, "I've spent a lot of time trying to strip away affectation from the way I sing. My singing voice is the negative imprint of my insides, I feel like an actual wind instrument [when I do it]. My singing voice is so personal in that it is exactly who I am, and there's a certain ringing vulnerability in that."[22]

Meath is a dancer, and movement has proven to be a staple in Sylvan Esso's visuals. INDYWeek described Sylvan Esso's videos as "healing" and "gratifying", noting, "[Sylvan Esso's videos] celebrate the way physicality connects us to our bodies and our bodies connect us to our communities at a time when that feels more precious than ever."[23]

She is known for her high-energy performances and unique on-stage wear, which includes a large collection of Buffalo London sneakers.[24]

Personal life

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Meath grew up in Cambridge, MA. She originally attended Bennington College in Vermont[25] intending to major in dance[citation needed], before discovering music was the thing she loved most. She relocated to Durham, North Carolina from New York when she was 24.[26] Her father is Jonathan Meath, a television producer best known for his work on the children's game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and for portraying Santa Claus in various media and events. [27] She is bisexual.[28]

Meath is a big video game fan; Sylvan Esso's name is taken from the video game Swords and Sworcery,[29] and the duo also released an Animal Crossing version of their "Ferris Wheel" music video.[30]

She and Nick Sanborn are now married and have a recording studio in Chapel Hill.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Amelia Meath". them.us. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Mountain Man: Three Women, In Perfect Harmony". npr.org. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Amelia Meath". issuemagazine.com. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Mountain Man – "Take Me Home, Country Roads"". stereogum.com. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Mountain Man Sings Neil Young's 'Through My Sails'". jambase.com. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Mountain Man Cover Kacey Musgraves' "Slow Burn"". pitchfork.com. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Mountain Man Announces 'Magic Ship,' Its First Album In Eight Years". npr.org. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Sylvan Esso look inward". ew.com. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Sylvan Esso". allmusic.com. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Sylvan Esso look inward". ew.com. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Sylvan Esso subverts and embraces the pop world on a brilliant second album". avclub.com. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  12. ^ "2018 GRAMMYs". grammy.com. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Sylvan Esso plating Collaboratively". brooklynvegan.com. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Watch Sylvan Esso's Concert Film". stereogum.com. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Sylvan Esso look inward". ew.com. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Sylvan Esso Drops Surprise With Love EP: Stream". Consequence. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath Is Stepping Out Into the World, Again". stereogum.com. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Watch Phil Cook And Amelia Meath's Video For "Miles Away"". americansongwriter.com. 17 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Local Natives Perform "Dark Days" with Amelia Meath, "When Am I Gonna Lose You" on Kimmel: Watch". Consequence. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Local Natives Share "Dark Days" Collaboration with Sylvan Esso". floodmagazine.com. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  21. ^ Minsker, Evan (June 9, 2022). "The A's Announce Debut Album, Cover "He Needs Me": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath Is Stepping Out Into the World, Again". them.us. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  23. ^ "On the Healing Power of Movement in Sylvan Esso's Music Videos". indyweek.com. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Sylvan Esso: "There's a reason why humanity wants to dance". thefortyfive.com. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  25. ^ Hart, Otis (September 13, 2018). "Sail Away, Sail Away On Mountain Man's 'Magic Ship'". NPR Music.
  26. ^ "Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath Is Playing Video Games To Soothe Her Existential Dread". bustle.com. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  27. ^ Hill, Corbie (7 May 2014). "Sylvan Esso's wonderful electro-pop debut stems from two lifetimes spent in training". INDY Week. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  28. ^ "Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath Is Stepping Out Into the World, Again". them. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  29. ^ "The Music Of Oak And Forest Sprite Blend In Sylvan Esso". thefortyfive.com. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  30. ^ "Sylvan Esso proves Animal Crossing is more medium than game now with new "Ferris Wheel" music video". The A.V. Club. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  31. ^ "Sylvan Esso Will Release a New Album, "Free Love," in September". Indyweek. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
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