PRIVACY
SELF-TITLED ONE-SIDED LP/CD
MARRIAGE RECORDS/ANTHEM RECORDS (uhhhh......) CO-RELEASE
USA


listen here.

up next is the sole recording from laurel knapp, aka PRIVACY. about a year and a half ago, my band eternal tapestry played a show with privacy and white rainbow at holocene, here in portland, oregon. i had never heard of privacy before, and had no idea what to expect. i was sitting on one of the couches along the back wall of the venue as ms. knapp took the stage, armed with only an acoustic guitar and a microphone. there were probably 10-15 people in the room during her set, maybe even less, but the sounds she produced were among the most fragile and beautiful i've ever heard. her vocals were so quiet i had to struggle to even hear them, while the guitar was played un-amplified and was more like half aware, barely there strumming. it's not often that i will see or hear music and have such an immediately strong reaction. i sat there, totally petrified, allowing the songs to gently wash over me. it was "folk" music in a way, but had more in common with drone than anything, all of the songs staying the same micro-volume; more than anything, it felt pure and untarnished. after the show i approached ms. knapp and told her how much i loved her set. she was kind enough to give me a copy of her cd, which had yet to be pressed to vinyl. the 12" was limited to only 300 copies and is now sold out, but i'm sure copies are still lurking in some records stores.
more like a collection of lullabies or sketches (in fact, one of the songs pretty much IS a lullabye, "goodnight fox," for her son of the same name), the eight songs on this self titled 20 minute ep amble along, content to lull the listener into a relaxed state of being, ms. knapp's warm voice blanketing the world around you. the closest modern performer i can compare her songs to are japan's AI ASO, particularly her "UMEROMONOIZEN" lp, in the skeletal, intimate nature of the songs. i've heard numerous comparisons to cat power, but her songs tend to rely more on embellished arrangedments and a, um, "soulful" vocal style, while privacy and ai aso use the idea of less-is-more to great effect.
this short release might be easy to toss off at first listen, but under the right conditions and mindset, it possesses some serious power.