Heather Maloney

Last updated

Heather Maloney
Heather Maloney.jpg
Background information
Born (1985-12-04) December 4, 1985 (age 38) [1]
Origin Hamburg, New Jersey
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active2009–present
Labels Signature Sounds Recordings
Website heathermaloney.com

Heather Maloney (born December 4, 1985) [1] is an American singer-songwriter. In 2009, she self-released her debut album, Cozy Razor's Edge, followed by Time & Pocket Change in 2011. In 2012, Maloney signed with Northampton-based label Signature Sounds Recordings [2] where she released Heather Maloney (2013), Woodstock (2014), Making Me Break (2015) and Just Enough Sun (2018). The full length album Soil in the Sky was released in 2019. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Maloney was raised in Hamburg, New Jersey. [2] She studied classical operatic singing, improvisational jazz vocals, and music theory. [1] [4] [5]

From 2006 to 2009, Maloney lived and worked at a silent meditation retreat center in Barre, Massachusetts, taking vows of silence for days at a time. [2] [1] According to Maloney, the silence helped her discover songwriting; she wrote her first songs while living at the retreat center. [4] [1] [2]

Career

In December 2013, a New York Times blog wrote about and shared a video of Maloney performing 'Woodstock' with Darlingside; the writer favorably compared her to Mitchell. [6] In 2014, Maloney released a collaborative EP with Boston quartet Darlingside entitled Woodstock, where she covers Joni Mitchell's song Woodstock . Following the release of Woodstock, Maloney and Darlingside embarked on a nationwide tour. [7]

Following Woodstock, Maloney joined with producer Bill Reynolds [4] to create Making Me Break (2015). The album features members of My Morning Jacket and The Wallflowers. [8]

Reviewer Elisabeth Woronzoff writing in Pop Matters described Maloney's 2019 album Soil in the Sky as developing "a multitude of captivating musical twists all the while projecting earnest emotionality." [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Goodwin, Jeremy D. (May 17, 2013). "Heather Maloney Keeps Her Music in the Moment". Arts. Boston Globe . Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bialas, Michael (October 7, 2015). "Taking the High Road, Heather Maloney Keeps Making All the Right Turns". The Blog. HuffPost . Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Elisabeth Waranzoff (August 15, 2019). "FOLK'S HEATHER MALONEY MATCHES POWER TO VULNERABILITY ON 'SOIL IN THE SKY'". Pop Matters magazine. Retrieved July 18, 2021. ...Heather Maloney ... the Northampton, Massachusetts based label Signature Sounds, Soil in the Sky establishes Maloney's platform for circumventing convention. Adorned in alluring lyricism, Soil in the Sky develops a multitude of captivating musical twists all the while projecting earnest emotionality....
  4. 1 2 3 Menyes, Carolyn (May 14, 2015). "Interview: Heather Maloney on Meditating to Write Music & Her New Album 'Making Me Break'". Music Times. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  5. "Five Artists to Watch in April 2015". Spin . April 6, 2015. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  6. Haller, Val (December 10, 2013). "Joni Mitchell's 'Woodstock,' by Heather Maloney and Darlingside". Booming Blog. The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  7. Mescher, Daniel (September 9, 2014). "Heather Maloney and Darlingside at OpenAir". OpenAir. Colorado Public Radio. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  8. "'Eighteen Fifty-Five' [Sponsored by Signature Sounds Recordings]". No Depression . Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.