Punk and electronic music have an interesting relationship. If they were a real couple they'd need domestic violence counseling but would stick in it for the sex.
Juggling mind-blowing Moog/Rhodes/bass while singing, playing
Tchaikovsky in The Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, and creating Fender
Rhodes loops layered with MPC drums, moog bass, cellos, violins, and vocals,
Erica Quitzow brings a vast range of diversity to her records and live
performance.
With a self-titled debut album and an upcoming second release, Erica is
involved in various musical projects, constantly exploring new influences for
her inner child gone wild, neo-post electro-pop sound. Erica holds down the
majority of Quitzow?s instrumentation, which consists of MPC, Reason, and
live drums layered with Moogs, Korgs, Rhodes, and Casios, as well as classical
and electric guitars, bass, cellos, violins, and various percussion, all
interweaved with her alternately playful and woeful vocal stylings. The record
was tracked in her upstate New York home with production and mixing
assistance by band and label mate, Gary Levitt. The music of Quitzow has been
described as ?combining the fun of Peaches with the intelligence of Lori
Anderson?, and ?Solex meets Liz Phair, but with more rhythm!?
Erica?s debut album Quitzow was self-recorded in her previous home in
Los Angeles. This is where Quitzow?s signature acoustic/electronic collage
elements, mirrored on Art College, were born. She played the majority of the
instruments on the record, creating a high-drama palate, consistently going to
the extreme. While the use of strings in songs like ?Drink Up? sometimes
conjures images of Rasputina, with a similar Sabbath-style heaviness,
comparisons are hard to make when it comes to the cartoon-like playfulness
of ?R. Crumb.? ?Know Me? is a complex, layered cut, evoking a Todd Rundgren
soundscape with passionate, screaming vocals reminiscent of Patti Smith.
The latest Quitzow release, Art College, is a collection of sing-along pop
collages and orchestral arrangements, splashed over hip hop, electro-clash,
and down tempo beats, and topped off with adventurous harmonies. Art
College comes out June 10th on Young Love Records.
Quitzow?s live performances include music from both records, and the
band lineup ranges from solo cello/guitar and vocals to full instrumental
recreations. The upcoming national tour will feature a five-piece band,
including cello, live and electronic drums, bass, backing vocals and
percussion, with Erica on Moog, Korg, guitar and vocals.
To name a few more of her musical projects, Erica plays violin, cello, and
sings backup for Setting Sun?s live shows, and plays drums and keyboards on
their recordings. Gary Levitt, leader of Setting Sun, is her partner in running
Young Love Records, playing bass and singing backup for Quitzow. The bands
tour together, share various band members, and assist each other in
recording. Erica also occasionally plays violin for the Woodstock Chamber
Orchestra, working to develop the orchestrations on her recordings by
studying classical compositions. She records strings on an array of projects,
recently working with Tony Levin, Garth Hudson, and Malcom Burns.
Past projects in which Erica sang and played bass include the critically
acclaimed Heavy Pebble, a New York/San Francisco based experimental band
that toured the west coast. More recently she played Moog, Rhodes, and bass
with Jennifer Turner (of Natalie Merchant?s band) in Los Angeles indie-pop
band, Inner. The first record was recorded in Nellie Hooper?s London studio.
(Bjork, Massive Attack) This band toured consistently for its three-year
incarnation to rapidly growing audience, a positive press response and
national college radio play.