Mary Lattimore

Last updated
Mary Lattimore
Born (1980-09-11) September 11, 1980 (age 44)
Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Genres Experimental
Occupation(s)Composer, musician, harpist
Instrument Harp
Years active2007–present
Labels Ghostly International, Thrill Jockey, Three Lobed Recordings
Website marylattimore.net

Mary Lattimore (born September 11, 1980) [1] [2] is an American classically trained harpist based in Los Angeles, California. In addition to her solo work and collaborations with fellow Philadelphia musician Jeff Zeigler, she has performed with indie musicians including Thurston Moore, Kurt Vile, and Steve Gunn. [3] [4]

Contents

Biography

Originally from Asheville, North Carolina, [5] Lattimore was raised in western North Carolina. [6] Her mother was also a harpist, and so Mary learned to play the harp when she was 11 years old. She was not very interested in it at first, but this began to change as she got better at it. [7] She studied at the Eastman School of Music where she worked on the college radio. [8] While taking summer classes at UNC, Lattimore also worked briefly at WXYC in Chapel Hill.

Musical career

One of Lattimore's first musical activities was her contribution to the Valerie Project, which released its self-titled debut album in 2007. This album was intended to be an alternative soundtrack to the film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders . [5]

Lattimore released her first solo effort in 2012, a self-titled cassette, on Fred Thomas' Life Like imprint. The following year, this album was re-released by Desire Path Recordings [9] as The Withdrawing Room. [5]

In 2014, Lattimore and Zeigler released Slant of Light on Thrill Jockey. [3]

Also that year, Lattimore received a Pew Fellowship grant, which she used to travel around California and Texas; while doing so, she recorded the album At the Dam, which was released on Ghostly International in 2016. [6] The album's title was taken from an essay about the Hoover Dam in Joan Didion's 1979 book The White Album . [10]

On 18 May 2018, Lattimore released the album Hundreds of Days , which received critical acclaim. [11] [12]

Lattimore's harp work is featured in an episode of Atlas Obscura released in 2021. [13] [14] On Steve Gunn's album Other You (Matador, August 30, 2021) she contributed to "Sugar Kiss", an instrumental duet. [15]

Discography

Studio albums

Collaborative albums

Compilation albums

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References

  1. ↑ "Mary Lattimore". Pew Center for Arts & Heritage . 30 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Happy Birthday Mary Lattimore". Twitter . 11 September 2021.
  3. 1 2 Cantor, Dave (6 January 2015). "Mary Lattimore on the Harp, Touring and Improvisation". Paste .
  4. ↑ Warren, Bruce (9 March 2016). "Songs We Love: Mary Lattimore, 'Otis Walks Into The Woods'". NPR Music .
  5. 1 2 3 Simpson, Paul. "Mary Lattimore Biography". AllMusic .
  6. 1 2 Hussey, Allison (8 February 2017). "Mary Lattimore's Spellbinding Solo Harp Work Offers Intimate Opportunities for Self-Reflection". Indy Week .
  7. ↑ Sharp, Elliott (28 August 2011). "Interview with Harpist Mary Lattimore". The A.V. Club .
  8. ↑ DeLuca, Dan (24 January 2019). "Mary Lattimore's harp makes all the guitar dudes jealous. But her instrument is also the reason she had to leave Philly". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  9. ↑ "Desire Path Recordings". Discogs.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  10. ↑ Lozano, Kevin (7 March 2016). "At the Dam Review". Pitchfork .
  11. ↑ Currin, Grayson (10 May 2018). "Mary Lattimore's 'Hundreds Of Days' Reinvigorates The Imagination". NPR Music .
  12. ↑ Petrusich, Amanda (15 June 2018). "The Seismic Emotion of Mary Lattimore's Harp Music". The New Yorker .
  13. ↑ Dylan Thuras (24 August 2021). "The Tank". Friends of The TANK. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Friends of The TANK". 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "album review Other you". Aquariumdrunkard.com. 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  16. ↑ "Three Lobed Recordings". Threelobed.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  17. ↑ Greene, Jayson (24 November 2018). "Meg Baird/Mary Lattimore: Ghost Forests". Pitchfork .
  18. ↑ Alston, Trey (5 February 2019). "Mary Lattimore and Mac McCaughan Announce New Album New Rain Duets". Pitchfork .
  19. ↑ "Mary Lattimore Announces 'Collected Pieces II', Unveils Video for New Single". Our Culture. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
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