Amber Coffman | |
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![]() Coffman in 2008 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Amber Dawn Coffman |
Born | Austin, Texas, U.S. | June 15, 1984
Genres | Indie rock, art pop, R&B, [1] experimental |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 2005–present |
Labels | Columbia Records |
Formerly of | Dirty Projectors, Sleeping People |
Amber Dawn Coffman (born June 15, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California, formerly based in Brooklyn, New York. She was formerly a guitarist for Sleeping People, and was later a guitarist and vocalist for the indie rock band Dirty Projectors. She released her debut studio album as a solo artist, City of No Reply in June 2017. [2]
Coffman grew up in Ohio, Texas, and California, attending at least 11 different schools. [3] She had an early love of the women in R&B in the 1990s, and became interested in rock as a teenager. [3]
As a teenager living in San Diego, Coffman worked at a grocery store as a day job and was a guitarist in an instrumental math rock band called Sleeping People. [3] [4]
Coffman moved to New York [4] at 22 and joined Dirty Projectors on guitar and vocals, [3] beginning with the band's 2006 tour for Rise Above . [5] She continued with the band through Bitte Orca (2009), the Björk collaboration Mount Wittenberg Orca (2010, inspired by Coffman sighting a family of Orcas off the coast of California), [6] Swing Lo Magellan (2012) and the EP About to Die (2012).
Dee Lockett, in New York Magazine , said Coffman's "soft, silky voice stood out on the band’s biggest songs, like 'Stillness Is the Move'" from Bitte Orca. [7] Describing Coffman's influence on the band's sound, Erik Adams wrote in the A.V. Club:
Amber Coffman made the avant-garde almost mistakable for Top 40. Coffman’s melismatic lead on "Stillness Is The Move" was a breakout moment for the Brooklyn band, and in harmony with Angel Deradoorian and Haley Dekle, she formed a vocal powerhouse that could either provide a radio-friendly counterpoint to David Longstreth's Arthur Russell-esque bleats or urge songs like "Useful Chamber" and "Gun Has No Trigger" deeper into alien territory. [8]
While in the band, Coffman also continued to create her own demos. [3] She began writing an album in 2011 [9] and released City of No Reply , her first solo album, on June 2, 2017. [2]
Coffman has also collaborated with electronic artist Rusko on the 2010 track "Hold On" [10] and with Diplo of Major Lazer on the 2012 track "Get Free". [11] In 2013, she was featured on hip hop artist J. Cole's song "She Knows" from his album Born Sinner . [12] In 2012, she collaborated on "No Regrets" with Snoop Lion and T.I. [13] She also collaborated with rapper Riff Raff on a song called "Cool It Down" on his Neon Icon album. She sang on Frank Ocean's song "Nikes", [3] the lead single from his album Blonde. [14]
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BEL (Vl) [15] | BEL (Wa) [16] | DEN [17] | FRA [18] | NL [19] | UK [20] | ||||||||
"Hold On" [10] (Rusko featuring Amber Coffman) | 2010 | 71 | 88 | — | — | — | 96 | O.M.G.! | |||||
"Get Free" (Major Lazer featuring Amber Coffman) | 2012 | 3 | 17 | 29 | 59 | 7 | 56 | Free the Universe | |||||
"No Regrets" (Snoop Lion featuring T.I. & Amber Coffman) | 2012 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Reincarnated | |||||
"She Knows" (J. Cole featuring Amber Coffman & Cults) | 2013 | — | — | — | — | — | 68 |
| Born Sinner | ||||
"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. |
"Dark Night" grafts a smooth R&B rhythm over growling, sinister synths that threaten derailment at any moment.