SHAWN COLVIN

Shawn Colvin is one of the bright spots of the so-called "new folk movement" that began in the late '80s. And though she grew out of the somewhat limited "woman with a guitar" school, she has managed to keep the form fresh with a diverse approach, avoiding the clichéd sentiments and all-too-often formulaic arrangements that have plagued the genre. In less than a decade of recording, Colvin has emerged as a songcraftsman with plenty of pop smarts, which has earned her a broad and loyal following.

Shawn's newest release, Shawn Colvin Live (2009), was recorded in 2008 during a special three-night solo engagement at San Francisco’s famous jazz club, Yoshi’s, Live includes 12 songs written or co-written by Colvin, as well as covers of songs by Robbie Robertson, Gnarls Barkley, and the Talking Heads. The record was co-produced by Colvin and John Leventhal. Shawn Colvin Live captures the beauty and intimacy of Colvin’s performances, showcasing her inimitable voice and matchless guitar stylings.

From the sense of hope that swells from the darkness of the opening track to the epic reinterpretation of the spiritual, “Motherless Child” to the closing track’s two minute mantra, “Where can you go? Can you Swallow the Sea?" the album Swallow the Sea is the sound of Matthew Perryman Jones simultaneously putting his neck on the line and shedding musical inhibitions, and finding his voice in doing so.

Regarding this album Jones confesses, "It seems I can’t get away from dealing with darker elements. The only way I can approach them, in my life and in my writing, is to approach them from a hopeful perspective. I think that’s apparent on this record. Otherwise, I think the inclination is to not want to address those things…not wanting to go there if you can’t see a way out.”

A Philadelphia native, Jones relocated to Atlanta at the age of 11 and fell in love with the bands of the nearby Athens, Georgia music scene, including R.E.M., and the likes of Guadalcanal Diary and Mary My Hope. He began writing songs in high school, where he also formed his first band, and was 15 when they recorded their first five-song demo (produced by Indigo Girls producer Don McCollister.)

Jones later performed with various artists in Atlanta, then Nashville. There, he soon found a pocket of independent artists who quickly became his musical community. Touring and writing with these contemporaries has contributed to Jones' growth as an artist. In collaborating with local talents, he eventually became acquainted with producer Neilson Hubbard with whom he soon began working.

Swallow the Sea is Jones’ second consecutive album with Hubbard (Garrison Starr, Glen Phillips, Matthew Ryan). “With this record there was a bit of a struggle in that (musically) subtlety seems to be en vogue these days and I wanted to make a bigger record because those are the records I’ve always been into.” As he did on 2006’s Throwing Punches in the Dark, the disc finds Jones writing in a stream-of-consciousness manner, coming up with song ideas in a spur-of-the-moment fashion. “It’s kind of like getting in your car and driving around and seeing what you can find.”