The One - Linda Draper

When Linda Draper was a little girl, she thought Gene Vincent’s “Be-Bop-A-Lula” was written by her Dad. “It was my favorite song in the whole world,” she says. “I was five-years-old, and he would sing and play it on the piano.” Raised just north of New York City, Draper describes the scene, saying: “I’d dance around the room in the way that only little kids who are too young to be self-conscious know how to do.”

While growing up in a musical household with parents and siblings who are all musicians (father Frederick is a classical guitar virtuoso who studied with Andres Segovia), Draper listened to everything from Bach to “Bop” from an early age, soon moving on to the church choir and then to writing her own songs on the guitar as a teenager.

Draper’s musical path led to tours throughout the US and UK where she performed with Regina Spektor, Teddy Thompson, Kimya Dawson, Jesse Malin, and Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing among many others, and her varied influences were reflected in the half-dozen records that she released over the years, including four LPs recorded with legendary cult-icon, music producer Kramer (Ween, Low, Galaxie 500). Now, Draper gets back to basics with her upcoming album Edgewise, scheduled for release on May 21st, 2013.

“With this album, I feel I’ve come full circle,” she says. “I feel myself returning to the roots that originally sparked my enthusiasm for music.” Produced by fellow singer-songwriter Matt Keating, Edgewise will find fans in those who are equally as enamored of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and Nick Drake as Draper is.

“One of my personal faves on the record is called ‘Hollow,’ which was actually partially inspired by Nick Drake,” Draper says of the album’s first single. On another album track, the dark “Shadow Of A Coal Mine,” Draper takes inspiration from Johnny Cash. The song is a favorite of her producer, Keating.

“I was humbled when Matt told me that he wanted to cover this song someday,” Draper says of Keating, the man she first worked with when they recorded a cover of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” together. “On the way to that recording session, I found out that my Great Aunt had passed away at 103-years-old,” Draper remembers. “I didn’t want to be a downer on the session, so I kept the news to myself, but I put all of my feelings of loss into the song that day.”

The story is a microcosm of Draper’s passion for singing and writing. “I feel like I’m better able to connect and convey what I am thinking, feeling and observing through music,” she says. “Sometimes things that are so close to the heart get lost in regular conversation, like trying to describe a dream.”

While Edgewise contains the serious overtones that once moved Time Out New York to compare Draper to Joan Baez, overall the record is generally more rock-n-roll oriented than previous efforts. “I’ve reconnected with the fun of recording, and have moved away from that cliché of the self-pitying folk-singer with a guitar,” Draper candidly jokes. “It’s a pitfall that countless singer-songwriters fall into, but misery is a bore.”

The record still maintains the gentle sway of Draper’s earlier recordings, but the elements of rhythm that came about when she was writing the album have compelled her to rock out a little more. Before she began recording Edgewise, Draper tried the tunes out on tour, becoming meticulous in her song selection, and spending time working to better her guitar playing in preparation for the studio.

“The album took nine months to make,” she says. “In a way, it’s my baby!” This familial description of Draper’s relationship with her music isn’t just for effect. Her earliest musical memories of dancing around the room with Dad on the piano inspire her to this day.

“I write songs to connect and to continue, through the music. For the odd-ball, the loser, and the loner that exists within us all. It’s a lot cheaper than therapy without any of the side-effects of medication,” she notes of the practical nature of her work, before adding more philosophically, “Someone once asked me if music is what I do for a living, and I responded, 'No, but it’s what I do for my life.'”

Linda Draper’s latest album Edgewise is scheduled for release on May 21st, 2013. The album’s first single “Hollow” is streaming now.

Press Quotes:
"What great artists sound like when their music is stripped down to its elements...succeeds in every respect." - American Songwriter

"Linda Draper approaches folk music with spare songs and a high register not unlike folk mama Joan Baez." - Time Out New York

"Brilliance from the simplest pairings of voice and minimal guitar...an artist in the best sense of the word." - The Sentimentalist

"...warm and personal...a treasure chest of thoughtful tunes and melodies" - Pop Matters

"There's some captivating magic here very, very worth exploring." - All Music Guide

"An absolute master class of exquisitely delivered song craft." - Losing Today Magazine (UK)

"A shining light of excellence...a delightful voice that immediately enchants." - Tasty (UK)

"Another example of the excellent work being done within the folk field these days; it is at once anachronistic and futuristic." - Americana UK

"Linda Draper has an absolutely captivating voice. It has a steady, tender quality that draws you in, pressing your ears to the speaker, to listen carefully to the quiet lyrics she slips into her simple acoustic arrangements." - Punk Planet

"A terrific songwriter, one that should be above the radar..." - Dagger

"...one of the true and real genuine talents of the twenty-first century. Highly recommended..." - Babysue Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.