Rachael Dadd

Event information

"Rachael Dadd is an artist that is destined to define the genre" - The Line Of Best Fit
"Bite The Mountain is a breathtaking piece of work...Everything is there for a reason, each word perfectly placed, each note exquisitely executed.” - The Liminal

Experimental folk multi-instrumentalist Rachael Dadd is one of the busiest artists we've encountered. Living her life between Japan and England, she is constantly touring, constantly writing, skipping from one fleetingly romantic show to another- whether it be a church in England, a gallery in Japan or atop a mountain in Switzerland. Her recordings are often born from late nights at home plugged into her 4-track. When she's not playing, she's sewing album sleeves and record bags. A true DIY artist in every sense of the word. Her time in Japan has had a great impact on her sound, and this influence is most apparent in the songs on her recent album Bite The Mountain.
“Making my album in Japan specifically was important to me this time around, because during my time there I’ve made important musical friends who’ve had a great influence. I hoped that it would work as a sort of patchwork of recordings from different places - as that’s a reflection of my life - because I’m always travelling around. It made sense that the recordings came from different locations and different situations.”
Rachael’s at her happiest when keeping things honest & low-key, though her nomadic approach to life & music has not gone unnoticed. She’s been celebrated by the likes of Rob Da Bank, John Kennedy, and her peers – where her music and approach to recording via 4-track have drawn her comparisons to the likes of Diane Cluck, Sufjan Stevens, and early Regina Spektor.
Bite The Mountain showcases Rachael as an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, where she turns her hands to clarinet, piano, ukulele, banjo, guitar, thumb piano, percussion, and layers of harmony – carefully overdubbing parts until the songs become whole. Although nearly everything on the album is played by Rachael herself, she is also joined by long-term collaborator Rozi Plain (Fence Records, backing vocals), experimental Japanese musician Ichi (Coup Records, steel drum), Japanese composer Aki Tsuyuko (Thrill Jockey Records, organ), Inada Makoto from improvisational band PAAP (double bass), and Maher Shalal Hash Baz member Yumi Ozaki (Domino Records, percussion). The album beautifully ties together Rachael’s loves of Japan, the Brooklyn anti-folk scene, traditional folk music, and contemporary experimental arrangement.
2011 saw Rachael tour the UK & Japan twice, with festival appearances (including Glastonbury, Green Man, Truck, and Wilderness), and a European tour. In 2010 she was responsible for two stunning releases (Moth In The Motor mini-album, and her Elephee EP), toured the UK twice (with Bella Union’s Alessi’s Ark, Dreamboat’s This Is The Kit, Domino’s Francois & The Atlas Mountains, and Fence Records’ Rozi Plain), toured Europe twice, played 4 separate shows at Glastonbury Festival, and found herself listed in John Kennedy’s top 5 musical discoveries.
Very few artists manage to tour the world, and yet still retain their DIY ethos and their ability to keep everything intimate. Rachael Dadd is one of these very special souls.