| Sally Seltmann | |
|---|---|
New Buffalo live in Melbourne, 2004 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sally Russell |
| Also known as | New Buffalo |
| Born | 11 September 1975 |
| Origin | Melbourne, Australia |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Dot Dash Arts & Crafts |
| Associated acts | Lustre 4 Spdfgh Paul Kelly Seeker Lover Keeper |
| Website | Official website |
Sally Seltmann (born 11 September 1975) is a Melbourne-based singer-songwriter.[1] Until 2009, she performed under the alias New Buffalo.[2]
Contents |
Seltmann, born Sally Russell, grew up in Sydney where she was the vocalist and one of the founding members of power pop group Lustre 4, as well as playing guitar in Spdfgh in the 1990s. She then moved to Melbourne and re-invented her musical style to create New Buffalo. She adopted a sound that replaced guitars with keyboards over smooth paced bass and soothing beats.
Seltmann's debut release as New Buffalo was in February 2000 via Ben Lee's web site by way of a MP3 download of the track "16 Beats". The following year she signed with Modular Recordings and released the debut EP, About Last Night, featuring the aforementioned track. It was also released in the United Kingdom through Heavenly Recordings, which saw New Buffalo invited to tour throughout the UK supporting Ed Harcourt.
In 2002, Seltmann recorded some songs in Los Angeles with Jake Davies, but after Heavenly withdrew their financial support, she decided to set up her own home studio in Melbourne. This where she wrote, arranged and produced her debut album, The Last Beautiful Day, which was released in Australia in September 2004 on Dot Dash and 23 August 2005 on Arts & Crafts in North America. The album features special guest appearances by Beth Orton on backing vocals and Jim White of Dirty Three on drums.
In July 2005 a self-titled EP was released featuring two new songs - a collaboration with composer Rae Howell, and a duet with Sweden's Jens Lekman - plus re-mixes and re-worked versions of songs from the debut album.
On 24 March 2007, Seltmann released her second LP, Somewhere Anywhere in Australia, and to North American audiences on 28 August 2007. Also in August, Seltmann was invited by Deborah Conway to take part in the Broad Festival project, which toured major Australian cities including performing at the Sydney Opera House.[3] With Seltmann and Conway were Anne McCue, Jade Macrae and Abbe May – they performed their own and each other's songs.[4] In the same year, she toured as a support act for Air in Australia.
Seltmann also co-wrote the song "1234" (originally called Sally's Song) with Feist which was released on Feist's album The Reminder. The song was featured in a 2007 iPod Nano commercial and transformed Feist's career.[5] By proxy, Seltmann's New Buffalo project became better known as she was mentioned in a number of publications, including Entertainment Weekly, which named her as an artist to watch in September 2007.
On 3 December 2009, Seltmann announced the details of her third studio album, Heart That's Pounding, which was released on Arts & Crafts on 6 April 2010.[6] The album was co-produced by film composer Francois Tetaz.[7] It was the first album to be released under her birth name. The lead single from the album, "Harmony To My Heartbeat", was released through iTunes on 24 November 2009,[8] and the accompanying music video directed by Antuong Nguyen of Moop Jaw followed on 15 December 2009.[9] Her song Four Seasons in one Day (cover of Crowded House) is used in the 2011 promo of the Australian soap Neighbours.
Seltmann is married to Darren Seltmann of The Avalanches.[2] She has a two year old daughter, Judy.