個人簡介
Rachael Yamagata,1977年9月23日生于弗吉尼亞的阿林頓(Arlington,Virginia)。 因為父親是日本移民,所以Rachael Yamagata還有個日本名字: 山形瑞秋。 父母離異后,她就常常奔波于自己的第三代美籍日裔的父親(哈佛畢業(yè)的律師)和她德國籍意大利的母親(在紐約的畫家)之間度過童年。
她是個自寫自唱的歌手。還會彈鋼琴, 多次贏得了Fiona Apple獎。她的第一張專輯《Happenstance》在2004年6月8日發(fā)行。Rachael Yamagata成為the Chicagofunk-fusion band Bumpus的歌手。在那里度過了6年,錄制了3張專輯,走遍全國。
Yamagata畢業(yè)于Bethesda的the Holton-Arms School for Girls。進入了西北大學(Northwestern)和瓦薩學院(Vassar)。
她還有個雙胞胎兄弟Benji。
音樂成就
90年代,一段多叫樂迷懷念的歲月,雖然因為MTV的出現(xiàn),也讓更多庸脂俗數(shù)的爛俗小調在改裝易容之后也有了更多展露于舞臺的機會,但即便不論Nirvana、R.E.M這些地下樂團對于主流樂壇震撼人心的沖擊,單就一個女性歌手創(chuàng)作風潮,就已經叫人大快朵頤了。如果說僅僅只是背著吉它演繹傳統(tǒng)搖滾樂,卻并沒有做出多少音樂革新的Sheryl Crow和Alanis Morissette還多少算是托了當時女權主義的福的話,那么Bjork、Tori Amos和Sinead Ou2019connor的出現(xiàn),就完全顛覆了人們對于傳統(tǒng)女性歌手的概念。而與那位大呼小叫的神經質前輩Yoko Ono相比,Bjork等的出現(xiàn)不僅真正展現(xiàn)出明確的女性搖滾立場,尤其是她們駕馭音樂的高超技藝,更使得她們有足夠的能量去改變搖滾樂里的中性特征,因而創(chuàng)造出真正獨具個性的女性搖滾樂。
可惜后繼乏人,雖然非主流或獨立搖滾圈近年來也總是不乏有這樣那樣的女新人登場亮相,但聽過Tori Amos這樣內外兼修之精彩音樂的人們,恐怕在撥高胃口之后也都暗自立下了一個新標準,在這種心態(tài)下,試問只是唱些中性搖滾口水歌的新人又如何能再過五關斬六將,成為數(shù)年后的又一位獨立女皇呢?!
在無法超越的情況下,至少要讓人看到希望,而2004年冒出的新人Rachael Yamagata就用她的首張大碟《Happenstance》展現(xiàn)了這種潛質。父親是日本移民,母親是德國、意大利混血,身兼三種血液的Rachael Yamagata從一出生起,就要比旁人多了一種博大精深的文化優(yōu)勢,山形瑞秋的日本名字或許還只是一種風雅,但骨子里那種東方式神經質的線條,卻注定了她與同類女歌手競爭時的先天優(yōu)勢,有Yoko Ono做為榜樣,一切早已說明。
盡管19歲就加入芝加哥的Funk樂團Bumpus,但Rachael Yamagata多元化的性格里卻顯然無法容忍被限制于一種音樂風格的拘束里,對她曲風有影響的倒是她和樂團吉它手男友的分手,使她以更感性化的情愛刺激為基礎引導出自己的音樂走向。
Singer/songwriter Rachael Yamagata grew up listening to Carole King, Roberta Flack, James Taylor, and the like, for music was the one thing in Yamagata’s life that remained consistent. Although her parents divorced when she was two, she had a wonderful childhood and she credits her parents for doing such an amazing job. Finding a balance between her German-Italian mother’s apartment in New York City and the Washington, D.C., home of her third-generation Japanese father was a task, but it readied Yamagata for a way of life that would eventually lead her to a professional singing career.
By the time she reached college in the mid-’90s, Yamagata had one year of piano lessons and a spiral notebook full of songs under her belt. Not sure of what she really wanted to do, Yamagata headed to Northwestern to study French. Within a year, she switched to being an Italian theater major at Vassar, but sporadic changes loomed ahead. When her acting coach at Vassar moved to Barnard College at Columbia University, Yamagata thought she’d go too. She eventually decided to head back to Northwestern instead, to join their theater program. During her junior year, she befriended the funk band Bumpus.
Bumpus was a mainstay on the club circuit in Chicago. From the start, Yamagata thought she’d like to be a part of the band. After seeing countless shows and attending band practices for several months, Yamagata finally landed a gig singing with Bumpus. She’d spend six years writing and recording three albums with the band and touring the country. By 2001, Yamagata felt like her time with Bumpus had run its course. She had a solid batch of songs that weren’t fitting in with the band’s funkafied formula, so she went solo. In September 2002, Yamagata landed a deal with Arista’s Private Music and her self-titled EP arrived in October. Her first full-length album, Happenstance, followed in June 2004.
EP
《EP》(2003)
《Live at the Loft & More》 (2005)
《Loose Ends》 (2008)
單曲
《Worn Me Down》
《Letter Read》
《1963"》
《River》
《Elephants》
《Faster》
《Sunday Afternoon》
現(xiàn)場
Live at the Bonnaroo Music Festival (2004) , released exclusively on BonnarooSony Connect Sets
(2005) , released exclusively on Sony ConnectKCRW Sessions: Rachel Yamagata
(2005) , released exclusively on iTunesNapster session: Rachael Yamagata
(2005) , released exclusively on NapsterBumpu
《Bumpus》 (1999)
《Steroscope》 (2001)
其他
Yagamata與多位藝人合唱過歌曲。她曾出現(xiàn)在了Jason Mraz的第二張專輯里。
單曲《Be Be Your Love》被錄入影片《牛仔褲的夏天》中的插曲。
音樂作品
專輯名稱 | 發(fā)行時間 | 語言 |
Elephants / Teeth Sinking Into Heart | 2008-10-07 | 英語 |
happenstance | 2004-09-13 | 英語 |