St Vincent - Surgeon from 4AD Session

View the full session at http://4ad.com/sessions/010

In September of this year, St Vincent took a giant leap forward with the release of third album, Strange Mercy. This time out Annie Clark was to combine her long-celebrated musical virtuosity with ambitious songwriting that ran a gamut of emotional cadences, all the while underpinned by a colourful sense of melody.

Recording these songs live for the first time, St Vincent has performed four tracks from Strange Mercy for the tenth visual installment in the 4AD Session series. Shot at Shangri-La Studios in the heart of the Brooklyn film and photography district in Greenpoint, the session was recorded with Annie's new band, Daniel Mintseris (keys), Toko Yasuda (moog) and Matthew Johnson (drums). Given St Vincent's transgression from the underground to the pop spotlight over the course of three studio albums, it's somewhat fitting that Shangri-La host the session having initially earned its name as a secret spot known only through word of mouth.

As with all of the sessions in the series, directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard filmed the four tracks with a clear artistic vision. In this instance, the inspiration came from an unlikely source -- the memory of seeing a 1968 Shirley Bassey performance of 'This is My Life' on Rai Uno for Italian TV. With that reference point in mind, Annie takes centre stage against the backdrop of a projected live-feed, resplendent in glamorous eye make-up and with her always-impressive guitar work brought clearly to the fore. More interestingly still, the classic showbusiness styling of the session is held in stark contrast to the affecting and darkly-tinged emotional undertones of 'Chloe In The Afternoon' and 'Surgeon', representing perfectly the themes that run throughout Strange Mercy.

Taking Strange Mercy on the road, St Vincent finishes her current US tour this month before embarking on a European tour in November, starting on the 10th at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.

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  Music

[InjuringPlum]

that little guitar part is insane

[EhhhEHMMM]

Annie Clark will be my wife....ONCE Gay marriage is allowed in California...damnit

[TheAndrewc5120]

ignorance in motion kids. please keep listening to your yngwie and leave the actual musical talent to those that appreciate it.

[RaygunShaun]

this is a beautiful women?!! woman can't play the GUITAR!!!111 my kid could do that woman guitar! and she has boobs>?!! that is why she is the famous!!!l11

thanks for enlightening the rest of us

[pppozos]

Que maravilla de rola, no dejo de escucharla.



[matthew heinrichs]

I love when you see where musicians are clearly digging what's coming out... 2:24

[Narcoleptigon]

Also, you people who talk about her in terms of sexual conquest should really have some respect. Gay, straight, whatever, she might have something to say about it, and might prefer you stick to addressing the music/poetry, don't you think?

[Narcoleptigon]

Those who say what she does is easy are missing the point. Many great musicians and artists don't necessarily employ difficult or harmonically sophisticated structures in their work. It's much more about how she assembles things using relatively simple building blocks. She manages to create songs that are worlds of their own. That's the mark of an original artist. I think she is an important voice and I prefer what she produces to that of some more accomplished musicians.

[Jeff M]

Found a clear shot at 1:36 and saw the brand TELEFUNKEN. Looks like the model is a M80 dynamic mic. They sound great and go for around $250.

[Luis Tello]

what mocrophone is she using?

[PayDroification]

GAHHHHH I LOVE THIS

[elitenig4]

dope!