Dee Carstensen | |
---|---|
Born | Maryland | February 18, 1956
Origin | New York City |
Genres | Contemporary folk, New Age [1] |
Instrument | Harp |
Years active | 1993– |
Labels | NYC Records, Exit Nine Records, Blue Thumb [a] |
Spouse | Mike Mainieri (m.1993) [2] |
Dee Carstensen (born February 18, 1956 [3] [2] ) is a New York City-based contemporary folk and new age singer/songwriter who is best known for her harp playing. [4] [5]
Carstensen was born on February 18, 1956 in Maryland and later moved with her parents and four siblings to Rochester. [3] [2] She started her musical interest by playing piano when she was 5 years old, and later took up stringed instruments when she was 8. [6] Part of her studies in the stringed instrument family included the harp, which was done with a harpist from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. [2] Carstensen described her relationship with stringed instruments as "love-hate", while she said her upbringing was "classical training" she was also listening to Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, James Taylor, and Jimi Hendrix. [6] Carstensen is married to vibist Mike Mainieri, who she says is the "single most important influence on her musical career." [5] [7] She cites this by mentioning 2 separate instances where she would "throw out ideas" and Mainieri offered his constructive criticism for her. [5]
Carstensen's debut came in 1993 with her album Beloved One, which was largely produced by Bob Marlette and included guitar work by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. [2] [6] Her second album called Regarding the Soul came out in 1995, and was produced by Neil Dorfsman. [2] In this album Dee integrated her singing, songwriting and harp-playing after "fooling around" with the instrument for a bit. [5] [6] Regarding the Soul was initially released under a subsidiary imprint called "Exit Nine Records" by Mainieri, and was later re-released in 1998 under Blue Thumb. [2] [8] Dee's third album called The Map also came out during this year which was released under a joint-venture agreement between GRP and Mainieri's NYC Records. [9] However, the Gavin Reports release schedule for the Summer of 1998 mentions Blue Thumb instead. [10]
Dee also recorded a children's album, Can You Hear Lullaby (2001), which featured guest vocals Everett Bradley, Curtis King and Julie Dansky and instrumental work by her husband.[ citation needed ] Dee went back into the studio and recorded a solo album, Patch of Blue, which was released in 2005. [7] Unlike previous work, all eight songs were originals, except Fly Away whose music was co-written with her husband, who played vibraphone on the album.[ citation needed ]Patch of Blue did not include any guitar work.[ citation needed ] Instead, it featured Dee's harp and vocals, with backing from the Tosca String Quartet and several woodwind players.[ citation needed ] Carstensen has been described as using her harp "like a guitar" in her folk/pop compositions. [11]
Year (release) | Album | Label |
---|---|---|
1993 [6] | Beloved One | NYC Records |
1995 [6] | Regarding The Soul | Exit Nine Records [b] |
1998 [9] | The Map | Exit Nine/Blue Thumb [10] |
1999 [3] | Home Away From Home | Exit Nine/Blue Thumb |
2001 [12] | Can You Hear a Lullaby | Exit Nine/Blue Thumb |
2005 [3] | Patch of Blue | Exit Nine/Blue Thumb |
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