Jason Andrew Molina was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Raised in northern Ohio, he came to prominence performing and recording as Songs: Ohia, both in solo projects and with a rotating cast of musicians in the late 1990s. Beginning in 2003, he would garner a further indie following for his releases with the band Magnolia Electric Co.
The Magnolia Electric Co. is the seventh and final album by Songs: Ohia. It was recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago and released by Secretly Canadian on March 4, 2003. The naming of the album and comments by Jason Molina have led to discussions whether it is not simultaneously, in fact, the debut album by Molina's new band, also named Magnolia Electric Co.
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar. Secretly Group includes the three record labels as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publishing, representing artists, writers, film makers, producers, and comedians.
Emma Louise Niblett, better known by the stage name Scout Niblett, is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Niblett debuted in 2001 with her first full-length studio album Sweet Heart Fever, and has gone on to release five more studio albums. In 2013, Niblett released her sixth studio album, It's Up to Emma, which she mixed and produced.
William J. Schaff Jr. is an artist and musician based in Warren, Rhode Island and Oakland, California. He is known for artwork for the bands Okkervil River, Songs: Ohia, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go is the second full-length solo album by Jason Molina, released under his own name. It was recorded in Bloomington, Indiana, at The Projects by Jim Zespy during July 2004. The record was released on August 22, 2006, on Secretly Canadian Records.
Trials & Errors is a live album by Magnolia Electric Co., released on Secretly Canadian in 2005. It was recorded on April 16, 2003, at Club Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.
Amalgamated Sons of Rest is the name of a one-off project by American songwriters Will Oldham and Jason Molina, along with Scottish colleague Alasdair Roberts. The collaboration yielded one eponymous EP, released in 2002 on Galaxia Records, and a song, "Translation", released by Jade Tree Records. "Translation" was not released under the Amalgamated Sons of Rest moniker, but under Molina's then-usual band name, Songs: Ohia, on a split EP with My Morning Jacket, though the songwriter credit is to "A.S. of R."
Pyramid Electric Co. is the first full-length solo album by Jason Molina, released in 2004 on Secretly Canadian Records. It was recorded by Mike Mogis and received universal critical acclaim according to Metacritic. While critics found it hard going: "Pyramid is not Songs: Ohia but the musical equivalent of A Season in Hell, not something one can take in often, but which is beautiful for the fact that it was completed at all", they also commented on the sincerity of the delivery: "The delivery is too matter-of-fact, too genuine to evoke pity or sadness. It is lethargic, yet not dreary — it grabs you violently and lays you down so, so gently." An unusual feature of the album was that it was released as a vinyl LP only, but each copy also contains the CD version of the album in miniaturized artwork.
Didn't It Rain is the sixth regular album by American musician Songs: Ohia, named after "Didn't It Rain", a traditional song popularized by Sister Rosetta Tharpe in 1948 and Mahalia Jackson in 1954. It was recorded by Edan Cohen at Soundgun Studios in Philadelphia and released by Secretly Canadian on March 5, 2002. The Metacritic website gave the album a composite rating of 85, ranking it thirteenth among the best albums of 2002.
The Lioness is the fourth studio album by Songs: Ohia. It was recorded by Andy Miller at Chem 19 Studios in Glasgow, Scotland with Alasdair Roberts, Geof Comings, Jonathan Cargill and members of Arab Strap, and released by Secretly Canadian on January 17, 2000. A re-release of the album, Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions, was released November 23, 2018.
Ghost Tropic is the fifth regular studio album by Songs: Ohia. It was recorded by Mike Mogis at Dead Space Recording Studio in Lincoln, Nebraska. The album's name refers to two short instrumentals that are surrounded by six vocal tracks of at least five and up to twelve minutes length. The reviews noted the somber and dark mood permeating the album. According to Pitchfork Media, "Ghost Tropic (...) sounds as though it were recorded live in a haunted hut somewhere in an Ecuadorian rainforest. At night." AllMusic was less sanguine: "Everything moves as slowly as a three-legged dog, and anyone neither patient enough nor attuned to Molina's style of songcraft might very well be put to sleep."
Axxess & Ace is the third album by Songs: Ohia. It was recorded by Michael Krassner at Truckstop Studios in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and released by Secretly Canadian on March 15, 1999.
Will Johnson is an American musician, singer-songwriter and painter who is the lead singer of the bands Centro-matic and South San Gabriel. Called "one of the most prolific artists in American indie rock", Johnson has also released solo records, and is a member of the bands Monsters of Folk, New Multitudes and Overseas, and has also performed as part of the Undertow Orchestra.
Impala is the second album by Songs: Ohia. It was released on CD by Happy-Go-Lucky, and on LP by Secretly Canadian on April 1, 1998.
Protection Spells is a tour-only album by Songs: Ohia. It is a collection of 9 improvised pieces recorded by Jason Molina whilst on tour in 1999. It was limited to 500 copies and released by Secretly Canadian in 2000.
Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma is a live album by Songs: Ohia. It was recorded at Barchessone Vecchio in Modena, Italy on September 27, 2000. The album received mixed reviews, with a Metacritic score of 60. While Pitchfork Media wrote that the album "...offers a better introduction to Songs: Ohia than the last couple of proper albums, which seemed like transitional or exploratory releases", The Wire's reviewer was underwhelmed, feeling that the disc "[s]till sounds like the work of someone desperate to gain the approval of the Drag City clique".
Songs: Ohia is the debut studio album by Songs: Ohia. It was released by Secretly Canadian on April 1, 1997.
Chris Barth is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist originally from Indianapolis, IN. He is best known for his work as principal songwriter and lead vocalist of the band The Impossible Shapes, as well as his solo work under his own name and the alias Normanoak. He was also a member of the soul/punk band John Wilkes Booze. He currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana where he performs in a variety of musical projects and works in Early childhood education, writing and performing original music for young children.
Viking Moses is a band fronted by Brendon Massei, an American songwriter noted for being on tour since 1993. Founded in 2003 and currently based in Baltimore, the group features a rotating cast of musicians. Viking Moses has worked with the Alan McGee's Poptones record label as well as Portland-based Marriage Records.
