CocoRosie

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CocoRosie

Background information
Origin Paris, France
Genre(s) Freak folk
Years active 2003 - present
Label(s) Touch and Go Records/Voodoo Eros Records
Associated acts Devendra Banhart
Antony Hegarty
Website Official site
Members
Sierra Casady
Bianca Casady

CocoRosie is an American duo based out of France and formed by sisters Bianca Leilani "Coco" and Sierra Rose "Rosie" Casady in 2003.

Sierra mainly plays the guitar, piano and harp, and contributes vocals. Bianca sings and manipulates various children's toys/electronic & percussion instruments. CocoRosie performs as a duo and also with other backing musicians on occasion, usually a bassist and either a drummer or beatboxer. They were active for most of 2004, 2005 & 2006 playing dates across the US and making several trips to Europe for tours playing with TV on the Radio, Bright Eyes, Devendra Banhart and others.

In late 2006 they appeared as a featured act at the Touch and Go Records 25th anniversary block party in Chicago along with Big Black, Scratch Acid, Killdozer, The Ex, Uzeda and many others.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

Sierra and Bianca Casady are part Native American sisters. Sierra, the older of the two, was born in Iowa, and Bianca was born in Hawaii. Their mother nicknamed them Rosie and Coco, respectively, from which their musical act takes its name.

Their mother, a teacher and artist, would compulsively move the girls across the country from one state to another. Their estranged father traveled around the US teaching in Steiner Waldorf schools, and was involved in Shamanism and Peyote religion. Sierra and Bianca spent their summers hiking from reservation to reservation with their father.

When Sierra was 3 years old and Bianca 5, their parents divorced. Sierra and Bianca did not get along very well growing up.

At age 14, Sierra was kicked out of her mother's house, and sent to boarding school by her father. At one point both girls attended the Verde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona at the same time.

During this period in her life, Sierra lost contact with her sister. She changed schools almost every year.

In 2000, at age 20, Sierra moved into a tiny apartment in the Montmartre district in Paris, France, to pursue a career as an opera singer, studying at the Conservatoire de Paris.

During this period, Bianca studied linguistics and sociology, and pursued her passion of visual arts and writing. She also collected a variety of tattoos, and was known to attend controversially "ironic," white-held "Kill Whitey" parties in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. [1]

[edit] Beginnings of CocoRosie

In 2003, Bianca was growing restless and decided it was time for a change. She left her apartment in Brooklyn to travel the world. Unexpectedly, she showed up at Sierra's apartment in Paris.

Over the course of the next two months, the women spent nearly every waking hour in Sierra's bathroom, chosen as the most acoustic and isolated room in the apartment. Soon, they had completed both a hip hop recording (never released) called "word to the crow" and their proper debut album La maison de mon rêve.

Originally, La maison de mon rêve was only intended to be distributed among a close circle of friends. However, by 2004 the lo-fi album was released on independent label Touch and Go Records, who had obtained a copy of the CD and had uncharacteristically pursued signing the artists. Since the creation of their first album, the Casady sisters have been virtually inseparable.

[edit] Commercial Use

CocoRosie's music has been used in various perfume advertisements including Kenzo's Amour which used "Good Friday" as well as Escada's Into the Blue which used "Not for Sale" in recent advertisements. Both use aspects of romance and slow speed motion film.

In 2005, Frederic Sanchez used "Brazilian Sun", "Not for Sale" & "Good Friday" as part of the soundtrack he created for Miuccia Prada's spring 2006 show. The piece was called "Coco Rosie Through the Looking Glass".

In 2008, music by CocoRosie was used in a Swedish rendition of Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten), with Jonas Malmsjö playing Prince Hamlet. The song Werewolf is repeatedly sung by Ophelia and Hamlet throughout the play.

By now CocoRosie composed two complete scores, in 2005 for the French movie Frankie and in 2007 for the German movie Haus der Wünsche (international: "Paperbird").

In 2007, their song "Candyland" was used in the film Anna M. by Michel Spinosa.

The song "Bear Hides and Buffalo" is featured in the gay zombie film "Otto; or Up with Dead People" by Bruce LaBruce, 2008

[edit] Currently

Sierra Casady performing in 2005

Bianca, 27, and Sierra, 25, have moved back to Paris, after having shared an apartment in Brooklyn.

Sierra has started a new band, Metallic Falcons, with friend Matteah Baim; they are signed to Voodoo Eros Records, a new label started by Bianca with business partner Melissa Shimkovitz. Also recently opened is the Voodoo Eros Museum Of Nice Items, an art gallery and performance space in New York City (123 Ludlow St) most recently home to an exhibition of Bianca's art Red Bone Slim VS. Itself: an Exhibition of Drawings.

On May 7, 2007 members of the band were arrested at the US/Canadian border after a show in Vancouver, resulting in the cancellation of the rest of the North American tour.[2]

On April 29, 2008 CocoRosie performed together with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.[3]

They played at Poland's Open'er Festival in July 2008, their performance was very well received by the audience.

On May 13, 2008 CocoRosie released a new single, possibly from an upcoming album; entitled God Has a Voice, She Speaks Through Me. The song was released digitally and as a 7" picture disc single (limited to 3000 pieces). The B Side of the 7" features a short and untitled song, which merely consists of noises. Though the picture on the B Side of the vinyl states lyrics from the previously only live performed song Hairnet Paradise, the actual song sounds extremely different.

CocoRosie was named the 16th most influential artist of the decade by betterPropaganda in 2008.

It is believed that CocoRosie does currently have work in progress.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Other Works & EPs

[edit] References

  1. ^ Garcia, Michelle (August 26, 2005), "Deejay's Appeal: 'Kill The Whiteness Inside': In Brooklyn, a Club Following Feels the Irony", The Washington Post: A03, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/25/AR2005082501818_2.html 
  2. ^ CocoRosie Arrested, Shows Cancelled | Pitchfork
  3. ^ CocoRosie & Het Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest 29 april 2008 22.30

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: CocoRosie

[edit] Sites

[edit] Live Video

[edit] Interviews

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CocoRosie"
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