powerdove
On a warm autumn day in 2008, Alex Vittum and Annie Lewandowski sat in a eucalyptus grove in Oakland. Alex was teaching Annie the finer points of field recording and stereo field techniques. In her right headphone channel Annie heard Alex ask her what kind of music she made. In her left headphone channel she heard herself say: “I write songs.”
At about the same time, Annie was preparing arrangements of her songs for the Eclipse string quartet at Mills College. After hearing a rehearsal of “Winterizing,” for string quartet and voice, Jason Hoopes approached her and said, “Man! If you ever need a bass player…”
And so began powerdove. From the original delicate arrangements for voice and parlor guitar, a trio was born. With his sublime sensitivity as an upright bass player, Jason brought depth and gravity. And with his magical and vast array of percussive objects, Alex wove an ethereal thread from song to song.
Powerdove recorded their first full length album on Valentine’s Day in 2009 with Deerhoof’s John Dieterich in the Mills College Concert Hall. The fruits of this endeavor will be released on Circle into Square Spring 2011.
Powerdove has played concerts on the West coast, New York, and Europe. Having recently moved to England, Annie continues performing as powerdove, with various new collaborators and the occasional solo performance.
As a preview to the album, Circle into Square is sharing a free download of powerdove’s self-titled EP, recorded in May 2010 by William Ryan Fritch (Asthmatic Kitty, Anticon). This EP features Annie, harpist Naomi Hoffmeyer, multi-instrumentalist William Ryan Fritch, percussionist Alex Vittum, and bassist Jason Hoopes. The bonus track, “Birdsong,” is from the Mills College Recording of 2009.
"I have no understanding of what makes Annie's music so powerful. I have listened to these songs so many times, and each time I take away something different and wonder how I could have heard it any other way. My hair stands on end thinking about the last time I saw her live!"
--John Dieterich (Deerhoof)
“Annie Lewandowski strips things down to their bare essentials with an eerie accuracy, and in doing so makes my hair stand on end. Beautiful songs of today and tomorrow, unsentimental and direct - highly recommended for cleaning out the cobwebs!”
--Fred Frith (Henry Cow)
allmusic | Be Mine
"If Be Mine cannot be seen as the equal of something like Nico's classic early-'70s solo run, it's not too far away in spirit, an embrace of understatement and focus on the one hand complemented by a looming feeling of restrained power on the other. Not a bad place to be with a debut..."
MusicRadar.com | ++ Be Mine
"Although they're a trio (there's Jason Hoopes on bass and Alex Vittum on percussion), Powerdove centre around Annie Lewandowski, whose haunting vocals and parlor guitar stylings will rattle your heart and soul. The group's full-length debut, Be Mine, recorded by Deerhoof's John Dieterich, is a bewitching blend of '60s girl-group love songs and intoxicating, ethereal, pastoral folk."
Mixtape Muse | ++ Be Mine
"Annie Lewandowski (aka powerdove) epitomizes the word "haunting" with such sparse instrumentation on powerdove's debut album, Be Mine. Over a patchwork of twinkling chimes and bells, sustained woodwind notes, swells and scratches of cymbals, and more, Lewandowski gently plucks her acoustic guitar as her voice soars and melts into the heart and mind. It's the simplicity of the music that emphasizes the impact of her enchanting, intimate delivery. The music is inescapable; Lewandowski sounds as though she's playing directly at your ear. It can be beautiful or eerie and everything in between."
Magnet Magazine | ++ Be Mine
YNet, Israel's Premier Online Newspaper | Artist of the Week
"Annie used to play with members of Deerhoof in "The Curtains" and her debut album had been mixed by Deerhoof's guitarist, John Dietrich. However, do not expect to hear Deerhoof-style, angular and choppy rock tunes; quite the contrary. Powerdove records quite songs with acoustic guitar and an enchanting clumsy voice. To this day, only 3000 listeners have listened to her songs on myspace, which means that when you will hit this link you will become part of a very exclusive club. Listen to the excellent and disquieting "Resting Place".
Jilted Barfly | ++
"One woman, one guitar. Slow motion, gentle, acoustic picking, like she's still trying to work out the song as she's playing it. Her voice is pure, plaintive, but not sad. Shady riverbank. Sun dappled, rippling stream. Beautiful."
Ejector Seat | ++
"Powerdove's songs perfect the art of restrained instrumentation, but still manage to be incredibly intense."
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