Naomi Yang (musician)

Last updated
Naomi Yang
Naomi Yang at The Scala in London in 2007.jpg
Naomi Yang in London, 2007
Background information
Born (1964-09-15) September 15, 1964 (age 59)
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician, graphic designer, photographer, filmmaker
Instrument(s) Vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, harmonium
Member of Galaxie 500, Damon and Naomi, Magic Hour
Website www.damonandnaomi.com
www.naomivision.com

Naomi Yang (born September 15, 1964) is an American musician, graphic designer, photographer and filmmaker. She was a member of the dreampop band Galaxie 500, psychedelic rock band Magic Hour and is half of the psychedelic folk duo Damon and Naomi. She has also made videos for a wide number of artists including Future Bible Heroes, Waxahatchee and Julia Holter.

Contents

Music

Yang was bassist and occasional vocalist with noted dreampop band Galaxie 500 on all their recordings from 1987 until their split in 1991. She then recorded three albums and toured with the psychedelic rock band Magic Hour. Since Galaxie 500's split she has worked as duo with her partner Damon Krukowski as Damon and Naomi who have collaborated with notable musicians such as the guitarist Michio Kurihara and members of the Japanese rock band Ghost.

Publishing

In 1989 Yang set up the independent book publisher Exact Change with her partner, who specializes in publishing 19th and 20th century avant-garde literature.

Graphic design

Yang has been responsible for designing the covers of all of Exact Changes publications as well as the sleeves of all of Galaxie 500 and Damon & Naomi's releases. [1] She has also done design work for a wide number of clients including The John Cage Trust. [2]

Photography and film

Yang's photographs have been reproduced in a variety of publications including Giant Robot

In 2011 Yang moved into film-making, directing and editing videos for a wide variety of musical artists.

Selected videos

Fortune

In 2013 she directed and edited the short film Fortune which has screened around the world usually accompanied by live accompaniment by Damon & Naomi.

Selected screenings

  • Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University (2014)
  • Pop Montreal (2014)
  • Istanbul Film Festival [11]
  • Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle (2017)

Exhibitions

In 2011 The Aviary Gallery in Jamaica Plain, MA presented a solo show of Yang's photography and video. [12] She has also exhibited as part of the gallery's Sound on Sight group exhibition in 2016. [13]

Personal life

Yang's father, the noted landscape photographer John Yang, [14] was born in China, and her mother is American. [15] She was born in New York City and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [16]

Yang graduated from Harvard with a BA with honors from the Visual & Environmental Studies Department in 1986 and then from 1986 to 1989 she studied architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design. [17]

Yang is the namesake of "Naomi", a song from Neutral Milk Hotel's debut studio album On Avery Island . [18]

Yang is married to drummer and author Damon Krukowski.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Magnetic Fields</span> Band

The Magnetic Fields are an American band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. Merritt's lyrics are often about love and feature atypical or neutral gender roles, and are by turns ironic, tongue-in-cheek, bitter, and humorous.

Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galaxie 500</span> American rock band

Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums: Today, On Fire and This Is Our Music. The band was made up of guitarist/vocalist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon Krukowski and bassist and vocalist Naomi Yang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luna (1990s American band)</span> American rock band

Luna is an American rock band formed in 1991 by singer and guitarist Dean Wareham after the breakup of Galaxie 500. Described by Rolling Stone as "the best band you’ve never heard of," Luna combine intricate guitar work, traditional rock rhythms, and poetic lyrics.

<i>Today</i> (Galaxie 500 album) 1988 studio album by Galaxie 500

Today is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Galaxie 500, released in 1988 on Aurora Records.

<i>On Fire</i> (Galaxie 500 album) 1989 studio album by Galaxie 500

On Fire is the second studio album by American indie rock band Galaxie 500, released in 1989 on Rough Trade Records.

<i>This Is Our Music</i> (Galaxie 500 album) 1990 studio album by Galaxie 500

This Is Our Music is the third and final studio album by American indie rock band Galaxie 500, released in 1990 on Rough Trade Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Wareham</span> American musician and actor (born 1963)

Dean Wareham is an American musician and actor who co-founded the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. He departed from Galaxie 500 in April 1991 and went on to establish the band Luna. Following Luna's dissolution in 2005, Wareham has collaborated on albums with fellow Luna band member Britta Phillips, forming the duo known as Dean and Britta. They have also ventured into film composition, notably contributing to the soundtracks of Noah Baumbach's films The Squid and the Whale and Mistress America. In 2014, Wareham released a self-titled album and in 2015, he reformed Luna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damon & Naomi</span>

Damon & Naomi are an American dream pop/indie folk duo, formed in 1991 by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, formerly of Galaxie 500.

Exact Change is an American independent book publishing company founded in 1989 by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang who, outside of their publishing careers, were musicians associated with Galaxie 500 and Damon and Naomi. The company specialises in re-publishing 19th- and 20th-century avant-garde literature and has published works by John Cage, Salvador Dalí and Denton Welch among many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damon Krukowski</span> American musician and writer

Damon Krukowski is an American musician, poet and writer. He was a member of the dreampop band Galaxie 500 and the psychedelic rock band Magic Hour, and is half of the psychedelic folk duo Damon and Naomi. He is also a published poet and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nedelle Torrisi</span> American musician

Nedelle Torrisi is an American musician who lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Nancy Harrow is an American jazz singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Holter</span> American singer-songwriter

Julia Shammas Holter is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, artist, and academic, based in Los Angeles. Following three independent album productions, Holter released Tragedy as her first official studio album in 2011. Ekstasis followed in 2012. After signing with Domino Records in 2013, she released the albums Loud City Song (2013), Have You in My Wilderness (2015) and the live-in-the-studio album In the Same Room (2017). Most recently, her double album Aviary was released in 2018.

Magic Hour were an American psychedelic rock band from greater Boston, Massachusetts, USA and were made up of former Crystalized Movements member Wayne Rogers and Kate Biggar and former Galaxie 500 members Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Listen, the Snow Is Falling</span> 1971 single by Yoko Ono

"Listen, the Snow Is Falling" is a song written by Yoko Ono and recorded by Ono and the Plastic Ono Band that was first released as the B-side of John Lennon's 1971 single "Happy Xmas ." A version of the song was later released on a reissue of Lennon and Ono's Wedding Album and was covered by Galaxie 500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swearin'</span> Philadelphia-based alternative rock band

Swearin' is a Philadelphia-based musical group made up of singer/guitarist Allison Crutchfield, singer/guitarist Kyle Gilbride, bassist Keith Spencer and drummer Jeff Bolt. They released two albums and an EP. The band split in 2015 and Crutchfield embarked on a solo career. In November 2017, Swearin' announced that they had reunited and would go on tour in support of Superchunk in 2018.

<i>Have You in My Wilderness</i> 2015 studio album by Julia Holter

Have You in My Wilderness is the fourth studio album by American musician Julia Holter, released on September 25, 2015, by Domino Recording Company. Co-produced by Holter and Cole M.G.N., the album was preceded by the singles "Feel You" and "Sea Calls Me Home". Two further videos followed its release, for the tracks "Silhouette" and "Everytime Boots".

<i>More Sad Hits</i> 1992 studio album by Damon & Naomi

More Sad Hits is the debut studio album by Damon & Naomi, released in 1992 by Shimmy Disc.

<i>Aviary</i> (album) 2018 studio album by Julia Holter

Aviary is the fifth studio album by American musician Julia Holter, released on October 26, 2018, by Domino. It was preceded by the singles "I Shall Love 2" and "Words I Heard". The album title is derived from a line in poet Etel Adnan's 2009 collection Master of the Eclipse.

References

  1. ↑ "The portable Naomi Yang]". PRINT Magazine. 2011.
  2. ↑ "Happy 100th Birthday, John Cage!". The John Cage Trust. 2012.
  3. ↑ "Watch a Meg Baird video directed by Naomi Yang". The Wire .
  4. ↑ "Video: Julia Holter: "Our Sorrows"". Pitchfork . 2012.
  5. ↑ "Future Bible Heroes – "Living, Loving, Partygoing" Video (Stereogum Premiere)". Stereogum . 2013.
  6. ↑ "Marissa Nadler Shares "Drive" Video, Directed by Naomi Yang of Galaxie 500". Pitchfork. 2014.
  7. ↑ "Waxahatchee Shares "La Loose" Video". Pitchfork. 2015.
  8. ↑ "MV & EE – "Feel Alright" Video (Dir. Naomi Yang)". Stereogum. 2016.
  9. ↑ "Lee Ranaldo – "New Thing" (Feat. Sharon Van Etten) Video". Stereogum. 2017.
  10. ↑ "Steve Gunn – "Vagabond" video". Matador. 2019.
  11. ↑ "Damon & Naomi play 'Fortune'". Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (ISKV). 2015. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ↑ "Afterimage - Naomi Yang". The Aviary Gallery. 2011.
  13. ↑ "Sound on Sight". The Aviary Gallery. 2016.
  14. ↑ "Naomi Yang discusses five photographers who represent different aspects of her work". Boston Globe . 2011.
  15. ↑ "Damon & Naomi | Pitchfork". Pitchfork . 25 May 2011.
  16. ↑ "About Naomi Yang — Naomivision".
  17. ↑ "Exact Changes: The many pursuits of musicians Damon & Naomi". Harvard Magazine . 2016.
  18. ↑ Battan, Carrie (November 15, 2011). "Watch: Galaxie 500's Naomi Yang Makes a Video for Neutral Milk Hotel's "Naomi"". Pitchfork.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.