Biography
Sharon Van Etten is an American singer-songwriter who spent roughly fifteen years in New York before planning a move to Los Angeles in 2019.[1] She pursued acting alongside music, with appearances in Twin Peaks: The Return and a recurring role on The OA.[1]
While raising her son she studied psychology at Brooklyn College, working toward a therapy certification.[1] Her 2019 album Remind Me Tomorrow, produced with John Congleton, marked a turn toward dark, synthesizer-driven sound, and its single "Seventeen" is a farewell to her New York years.[1][2]
Her second album, Epic (2010), was made in about eleven days in Philadelphia while she was interning at Ba Da Bing Records[3]. It was the point where she began working with a full band, an approach she credits to learning to ask others for help[4].
Before her recording career she studied music production at Middle Tennessee State University, left school, and helped run a small concert venue in Murfreesboro. After moving to Brooklyn in 2006 she worked as a publicist for the label Ba Da Bing, and was shy enough about her own music that the label's head was surprised to learn she was playing shows.[3] Her 2010 album Epic was written after a very bad relationship that, she says, pushed her to leave Tennessee; she describes the record as a story about getting over that situation rather than about him.[3] After an earlier painful breakup she spent a year living with her parents, who asked that she hold a job, attend therapy and go to school.[4]
Her second album, Epic (2010), was recorded in eleven days in Philadelphia with producer Brian McTear and released on Ba Da Bing.[3] It circled the aftermath of an abusive relationship from her years in Tennessee, though she has said the record is about her getting over that situation, not about him.[4] Its closing song, "Love More," was written on a borrowed harmonium and later covered by Bon Iver, The National and Fiona Apple.[5][6]
References
- The Ringer: Sharon Van Etten interview on Remind Me Tomorrow — Interview covering the album's recording, her life in early 2019, and the Seventeen video as a goodbye to New York.
- Songfacts: The Meaning Behind Seventeen — Reading of the song as a love letter to New York and a dialogue with her younger self.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer: Sharon Van Etten's epic Ten review — Covers the Miner Street sessions, the Ba Da Bing internship, and the album's emotional focus.
- KEXP: Sharon Van Etten Breaks Down Every Song, and Corresponding Cover, on epic Ten — Van Etten on making Epic, the harmonium, Aaron Dessner, and why she chose IDLES to cover Peace Signs.
- Spin: Breaking Out, Sharon Van Etten — Her early career in Tennessee and Brooklyn, and the relationship behind Epic.
- KEXP: Sharon Van Etten Breaks Down Every Song on epic Ten — Her account of the year she lived with her parents after a painful breakup.
- Wikipedia: Epic (Sharon Van Etten album) — Recording dates, studio, producer, guests, reception scores, and the epic Ten anniversary edition.
- Spin: Sharon Van Etten interview on Epic — Van Etten on the album being about getting over a past relationship, and on the song's covers.
- KEXP: Sharon Van Etten Breaks Down Every Song on epic Ten — Van Etten on writing Love More on a harmonium, its role on the record, and Fiona Apple's cover.
- Stereogum: Fiona Apple covers Love More — Coverage of Fiona Apple's playful, percussive cover for epic Ten.