Damien Jurado

Damien Jurado
Jurado performing at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, Missouri in February 2015
Background information
Origin	Seattle, Washington, United States
Genres	Indie rock Indie folk Americana
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Acoustic Guitar, electric guitar
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Secretly Canadian
Associated acts	Coolidge,[1] Hoquiam
Website	damienjurado.com

Damien Jurado is an American indie rock singer/songwriter from Seattle, Washington. Over the years, he has released albums on Sub Pop and currently on Secretly Canadian.^[2]

Music career

Jurado's solo career began during the mid-1990s, releasing lo-fi folk based recordings on his own cassette-only label, Casa Recordings. Gaining a local cult following in Seattle, he was brought to the attention of Sub Pop Records by Sunny Day Real Estate singer Jeremy Enigk. After two 7" releases (Motorbike and Trampoline) Sub Pop issued his first full album, Waters Ave S. in 1997. His second album Rehearsals for Departure, was released in 1999, produced by Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star, R.E.M.).

He often makes use of found sound and field recording techniques, and has experimented with different forms of tape recordings. In 2000 he released Postcards and Audio Letters, a collection of found audio letters and fragments that he had found from sources such as thrift store tape players and answering machines. Also released in 2000 was Ghost of David, Jurado's bleakest and most personal sounding record to date. I Break Chairs (2002) was produced by long-time friend, Pedro the Lion's David Bazan. It was his last album for Sub Pop, and was a much rockier, electric affair.

After signing for the Indiana-based label Secretly Canadian, Jurado reverted to his trademark folk ballad-based style, releasing four more albums: Where Shall You Take Me? (2003), On My Way to Absence, (2005) And Now That I'm in Your Shadow (2006) and the rockier Caught in the Trees (2008).^[3]

Damien Jurado performing in Denton, Texas in 2009

In 2009, Jurado teamed with his brother Drake to issue an LP under the moniker Hoquiam, released on February 23, 2010. The album preceded Damien's next solo release, dubbed Saint Bartlett, which was released May 25, 2010 and was produced by label mate Richard Swift.^[4] After touring the album with Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground, Jurado began work on his next album. On February 21, 2012 he released his 10th studio album, Maraqopa, his sixth for Secretly Canadian.^[5] In January 2014 Jurado released Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son^[6] an album which marked the third straight collaboration with producer Richard Swift. In March 2016, Jurado released Visions of Us on the Land, and in December of the same year he and Swift released a collection of covers from 2010, Other People's Songs, Volume 1.^[7] In September 2016 he was forced to cancel an Australian tour due to health issues.^[8]

Collaborations and contributions

Jurado appears on the tracks Almost Home and The Dogs on Moby's album Innocents.^[9]

He is also featured in an episode of the BYUtv music documentary series Audio-Files.^[10]

Jurado's song "Everything Trying" appeared in the NBC series The Blacklist (Season 1, episode 12) and in the 2013 Best Foreign Film Oscar film The Great Beauty.

In the 2015 romantic comedy,Tumbledown, Jurado contributes to many songs on the soundtrack.^[11]

He duets with Lotte Kestner on her song "Turn the Wolves" on the 2013 album The Bluebird of Happiness.

He has collaborated extensively with Richard Swift.

Discography

Albums

• Waters Ave S. (Sub Pop – January 1997)^[12]
• Rehearsals for Departure (Sub Pop – March 1999)
• Postcards and Audio Letters (2000, Made in Mexico)
• Ghost of David (Sub Pop – September 2000)^[13]
• I Break Chairs (Sub Pop – February 2002)^[12][14]
• Where Shall You Take Me? (Secretly Canadian – March 2003)^[15]
• This Fabulous Century (Burnt Toast – October 2004)
• On My Way to Absence (Secretly Canadian – April 2005)
• And Now That I'm in Your Shadow (Secretly Canadian – October 2006)^[16][17]
• Caught in the Trees (Secretly Canadian – September 2008)
• Saint Bartlett (Secretly Canadian – May 2010)
• Live at Landlocked (Secretly Canadian – April 16, 2011)^[18]
• Maraqopa (Secretly Canadian - February 21, 2012)
• Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son (Secretly Canadian - January 21, 2014) UK #100, US #101
• Visions of Us on the Land (Secretly Canadian - March 18, 2016)^[19]
• Other People's Songs, Volume 1 (Secretly Canadian - December 2, 2016)

EPs

• Motorbike (1995, Sub Pop)
• Trampoline (1996, Sub Pop)
• Vary (1997, Tooth & Nail)
• Gathered in Song (1998, Made in Mexico)
• Four Songs (2001, Burnt Toast Vinyl)
• Holding His Breath (2003, Acuarela)
• Just in Time for Something (2004, Secretly Canadian)
• Traded for Fire/Ghost of David Split with Dolorean (2006, Secretly Canadian)
• Gathered in Song (2007, Made in Mexico; re-release with bonus tracks)
• LEM: Volume 1, January 2010 (2010, Flannelgraph Records/Crossroads of America)
• Our Turn to Shine EP (2010, Secretly Canadian; the Saint Bartlett bonus EP is exclusive to Amazon UK)
• Diamond Sea/Pentagrams (Part of The Maraqopa Sessions) (2012, Secretly Canadian)
• Clouds Beyond/Let As All In (Part of The Maraqopa Sessions) (2012, Secretly Canadian)
• Wyoming Songbirds/Ghost of David (The Return) (Part of The Maraqopa Sessions) (2012, Secretly Canadian)
• The Maraqopa Sessions EP (2012, Secretly Canadian; bonus EP to celebrate the inclusion of Maraqopa on Rough Trade's Best Album 2012 list)

Singles

• "Halo Friendly" (1997, Summershine)
• "Chevrolet" (1998, UK only, Snowstorm)
• "Letters & Drawings" (1998, UK only, Ryko)
• "Big Let Down / Make Up Your Mind" (2002, Secretly Canadian)
• "Ohio" (2014, Filous Remix)
• "Exit 353" (2015)

Tour-only releases

• Walk Along the Fence (2004)
• Untitled 6 song EP (2006)
• The Trees Tour EP (2007)
• European Tour CD-R (2009)

Compilation appearances

• "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" – Bifrost Arts' Come O Spirit (Sounds Familyre, 2009)

References

External links

• Secretly Canadian: Damien Jurado
• Sub Pop: Damien Jurado
• Official Website