Amelia Randall Meath (born July 2, 1988) is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and dancer who is a member of the musical groups Sylvan Esso and Mountain Man. She is based in Durham, North Carolina. [1]
Amelia Randall Meath (born July 2, 1988) is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and dancer who is a member of the musical groups Sylvan Esso and Mountain Man. She is based in Durham, North Carolina. [1]
Meath formed folk trio Mountain Man alongside Molly Sarlé and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig in 2010, while all three were students at Bennington College. [2] They initially self-released their debut album, Made the Harbor in 2010 via Myspace, to acclaim, with Meath at the helm as the band's manager. Leslie Feist noticed their work and invited them on an international tour as back-up singers. [3]
After a hiatus, Mountain Man's second album, Magic Ship, was released in 2018. The trio also maintains the recurring Mountain Man Sings... singles series, in which they have covered John Denver, [4] Neil Young, [5] Kacey Musgraves, [6] and more.
NPR has described the trio's music as existing in "a timeless space where three voices are all you need to be transported someplace wonderful." [7]
In 2013, Meath approached musician Nick Sanborn to ask him to remix Mountain Man's "Play It Right" track, which Meath had written. The duo realized their styles meshed and decided to form Sylvan Esso. [8] Meath is the project's vocalist, lyricist, and co-producer in the project.
Sylvan Esso's self-titled debut album was released May 12, 2014 via Partisan Records. [9] The duo's self-titled 2014 debut paired Meath's "secretive, intimate" songwriting with Sanborn's propulsive and sticky production, and they found immediate success; they were quickly selling out clubs around the country and booking major festivals like Bonnaroo, Firefly, and Austin City Limits. [10]
Their sophomore LP, What Now, was released April 28, 2017 via Loma Vista Recordings. The album was a success. Josh Modell of The A.V. Club called the album "brilliant" and "a record so good it answers its own title question and makes you eager to ask it again." [11] What Now went on to receive a Grammy nomination in the category "Best Dance/Electronic Album". [12] They continued to tour extensively.
In November 2019, Sylvan Esso launched their limited-run WITH tour in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, and Durham, NC. [13] In the expanded band, Meath and Sanborn were joined by Meg Duffy, Molly Sarlé, Daughter of Swords, Jenn Wasner, Dev Gupta, Adam Schatz, Matt McCaughan, and Joe Westerlund. A live concert documentary of the Durham show was released on YouTube on April 23, 2020, followed by the surprise release of the full-length live album, also titled WITH. [14]
Meath and Sanborn's third full-length LP, Free Love, was released September 25, 2020 via Loma Vista Recordings, to positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly described the album as "..somehow prescient and nostalgic in the same breath. It traffics in intimacy and self-preservation in the face of opening oneself up to love." [15]
Following their concert stream series FROM THE SATELLITE, on December 2, 2020, Sylvan Esso surprise-released WITH LOVE, a 10-piece "dream team" band featuring most of the players from WITH. [16]
In a 2020 interview with THEM, Meath explained Sylvan Esso's sound, "We always make records about how the world is dying. They're sad songs that sound really happy." [17]
In 2018, she and Phil Cook cowrote and released the duet "Miles Away." Her vocals on the outro are all from the first take in the studio. [18]
In 2020, Meath performed as the guest vocalist on Local Natives' "Dark Days" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! , [19] and then wrote a new verse for the track while collaborating with the band on a new studio version. Local Natives explained: “Despite the looming anxiety of those final pre-quarantine days, that [Kimmel] felt especially cathartic for us and was made all the more poignant by having Amelia on stage with us. She not only lent us her incredible voice but she wrote a beautiful new verse that taps into the nostalgia and the longing we all feel for a different time.” [20]
In 2022, Meath and Mountain Man bandmate Sauser-Monnig formed The A's, who released their debut album, Fruit, in July 2022. [21]
Of her unique singing voice, Meath has explained, "I've spent a lot of time trying to strip away affectation from the way I sing. My singing voice is the negative imprint of my insides, I feel like an actual wind instrument [when I do it]. My singing voice is so personal in that it is exactly who I am, and there's a certain ringing vulnerability in that." [22]
Meath is a dancer, and movement has proven to be a staple in Sylvan Esso's visuals. INDYWeek described Sylvan Esso's videos as "healing" and "gratifying", noting, "[Sylvan Esso's videos] celebrate the way physicality connects us to our bodies and our bodies connect us to our communities at a time when that feels more precious than ever." [23]
She is known for her high-energy performances and unique on-stage wear, which includes a large collection of Buffalo London sneakers. [24]
Meath grew up in Cambridge, MA. She originally attended Bennington College in Vermont [25] intending to major in dance[ citation needed ], before discovering music was the thing she loved most. She relocated to Durham, North Carolina from New York when she was 24. [26] Her father is Jonathan Meath, a television producer best known for his work on the children's game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and for portraying Santa Claus in various media and events. [27] She is bisexual. [28]
Meath is a big video game fan; Sylvan Esso's name is taken from the video game Swords and Sworcery , [29] and the duo also released an Animal Crossing version of their "Ferris Wheel" music video. [30]
She and Nick Sanborn are now married and have a recording studio in Chapel Hill. [31]
Jonathan Meath is an American television producer and director. He was senior producer of the television game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? He also was a producer of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss and the 1990s' remake of Zoom. In addition, he is notable for having a dual career as a professional Santa Claus. He made numerous appearances in various media as Santa, including on Good Morning America, at Radio City Music Hall with The Rockettes, on the cover of Boston Magazine, and on a Delta Air Lines' pre-flight safety demonstration. He was described by National Public Radio and Time as a "top Santa".
Mountain Man is an American singing trio of women described as "nestled in the tradition of American folk" with a traditional Appalachian folk sound. They have earned acclaim from a number of music critics. They often sing a cappella, with a "sparse, haunting, hymnal beauty" sometimes accompanied by soft acoustic guitar, but with their voices "virtually unadorned", according to Guardian critic Paul Lester. The group toured with the vocalist Feist in 2011, and New York Times music reviewer Ben Ratliff described their performance as "creating shifting harmonies" which "worked perfectly".
Sylvan Esso is an American electronic pop duo from Durham, North Carolina which was formed in 2013. The band consists of singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn. They made their debut with the single "Hey Mami" and released their eponymous debut album on Partisan Records on May 12, 2014. It reached No. 39 on the Billboard 200. They released their second album, What Now, with Loma Vista Recordings on April 28, 2017, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album.
Sylvan Esso is the debut studio album by American electropop group Sylvan Esso, released May 12, 2014 via Partisan Records. The band consists of singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn.
"Hey Mami" is the debut single by Sylvan Esso, released in 2013 from the band's eponymous debut album. The A-side, "Hey Mami", is the album's opening track; while the B-side, "Play It Right", is the album's ninth track. It is the only single the band released on Trekky Records before they moved to Partisan Records.
White Reaper is an American garage punk band based in Louisville, Kentucky. The band includes Tony Esposito (guitar/vocals), Ryan Hater, Hunter Thompson, Nick Wilkerson, and Sam Wilkerson. The band has released two EPs and four full-length albums, their first album in 2015 White Reaper Does It Again, and The World's Best American Band in 2017. White Reaper released their third studio album You Deserve Love on October 18, 2019, their major label debut. Their fourth studio album, Asking for a Ride, was released on January 27, 2023.
What Now is the second studio album by American indie pop duo Sylvan Esso, made up of singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn, released on April 28, 2017, by Loma Vista Recordings. The album spawned three singles—"Radio", released on August 31, 2016; "Kick Jump Twist", released on November 18, 2016; and "Die Young", released on February 27, 2017.
Fragile Rock is an American musical collective of musicians and puppeteers, described as an "emo puppet band." The band formed in Austin, Texas in 2014 as the brainchild of musician and writer Brently Heilbron.
Middle Kids are an Australian alternative indie rock band from Sydney. The group consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Hannah Joy, bass guitarist Tim Fitz, and drummer Harry Day. Since forming in 2016, the band has released their eponymous debut EP (2017), the album Lost Friends (2018), the New Songs for Old Problems EP (2019), and their second studio album, Today We're the Greatest (2021). In February 2024, they released their third album, Faith Crisis Pt 1.
Magic Ship is the second studio album by American folk trio Mountain Man. It was released on September 21, 2018 under Bella Union in Europe and Nonesuch Records worldwide.
Sidney Gish is an American singer-songwriter. She has released two albums, Ed Buys Houses and No Dogs Allowed.
Meg Duffy is an American musician and guitarist who has played as a studio musician on records by The War on Drugs, Weyes Blood, Perfume Genius, Sasami, and William Tyler, among many others. Duffy was a longtime member of Kevin Morby's live band, is a current member of Perfume Genius's band, and is the sole member of indie-rock band Hand Habits.
Naia Izumi is an American virtuoso guitarist and singer songwriter from Columbus, Georgia.
Daughter of Swords is the folk music side-project of the American musician Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, best known as a member of the band Mountain Man. Sauser-Monnig released her solo album as Daughter of Swords, entitled Dawnbreaker, in 2019.
Karaoke Angel is the debut studio album by American folk musician Molly Sarlé, released on September 20, 2019 by Partisan Records.
Remi Francis Wolf is an American singer and songwriter from Palo Alto, California. As a senior in high school, she appeared as a contestant on American Idol in 2014. After completing her undergraduate music studies in 2018, she made her solo debut with the self-released extended play You're a Dog! in October 2019. Wolf subsequently released her second EP and major-label debut, I'm Allergic to Dogs!, on Island Records and Virgin EMI Records in June 2020, followed by her debut studio album, Juno, in October 2021. She released her second album, Big Ideas, on July 12, 2024.
Free Love is the third studio album by American indie pop duo Sylvan Esso, made up of singer Amelia Meath and multi-instrumentalist Nick Sanborn, released on September 25, 2020, by Loma Vista Recordings.
Lavender Days is the fourth studio album by American folk band Caamp. It was released on June 24, 2022, independently by By and By Records with distribution handled by Mom + Pop Music.
No Rules Sandy is the fourth studio album by American electropop duo Sylvan Esso, comprising Amelia Meath and Nick Sandborn. It was released on August 12, 2022, on Loma Vista Recordings.
Mercy is the seventeenth studio album by the Welsh musician and composer John Cale. It was released on 20 January 2023 by Double Six Records, making it Cale's first album of new songs in over a decade. It features collaborations with Tony Allen, Laurel Halo, Weyes Blood, Tei Shi, Animal Collective's Avey Tare and Panda Bear, Dev Hynes, Sylvan Esso, Actress, and Fat White Family. It was inspired by current events such as Donald Trump's presidency, Brexit, COVID-19, climate change, civil rights, and right-wing extremism.