MULTILAYERED RHAPSODIES
Brooklyn's dark indie folk trio White Magic features
singer/guitarist/pianist Mira Billotte, drummer/bassist Miggy
Littleton, and guitarist/drummer Andy Macleod. Billotte played in
Quix*o*tic with her sister Charlotte (also of Slant 6); Littleton
played in Ida with his brother Dan; and McLeod also played in
California Speedway. The band played in New York for a couple of years
and appeared on the United Bamboo collection before Drag City signed
them in 2003.
That spring, White Magic played the All Tomorrow's Parties festival and
issued their debut EP, Through the Sun Door.
In 2005, Billotte played a few shows as White Magic, accompanied only
by guitarist Sleepy Doug Shaw. The duo began recording White Magic's
debut album in 2005 as well, collaborating with Gang Gang Dance's Tim
DeWitt -- who played with the band occasionally in its earliest days --
as well as other musicians for a more eclectic, layered sound than
before. The results, Dat Rosa Mel Apibus, arrived in fall 2006. Dat
Rosa Mel Apibus is a strange potion, more freak than folk, constructed
mainly from simple, chunky piano patterns, dizzily swirling harmonies,
droning strings, and Mira Billotte's booming lead vocals. It was
followed by the Dark Stars EP in 2007.
|
