biographical info
Pragmatically naming her sophomore album after the things that decorate the wall in her Montreal rehearsal room, Saskatoon-born singer/songwriter Tessa Kautzman has combined her experiences living in every corner of Canada with the comfortable style she introduced on her debut, 2009's Always Going Home, to create a more mature and polished signature sound. 2011's Shredded eagle, Sad tambourine is an ode to the balance between the good and the bad, the impermanence of anything real, and the necessity of embracing both love and suffering.
Armed with an acoustic guitar and her impressively effortless vocals, Kautzman’s music contains plenty of elements such as fuzzed-out alt-country and lo-fi shoegaze folk. However, she manages to evade the clichés of the singer/songwriter genre despite keeping elements such as the plaintive strumming of a lonely acoustic or vocals that are forcefully and heartrendingly aching. Although drawing from a multitude of influences to create her own sound and atmosphere, Kautzman's music has been said to flow in a similar vein as that of Sharon Van Etten, Neko Case, and Feist.
The one constant that anchors Kautzman is her ability to absorb the regional dialects of wherever she has made her home, making her songwriting always familiar. From the island of Victoria BC, to Montreal, QC and even as far as the northernmost edges of Dawson City, Yukon, Kautzman has hosted a myriad of backup artists, including Tolan McNeil (Lucky Mouse Studio), Lily Fawn (Hank & Lily), Rachelle Reath (David P. Smith, the Pine Family), Jordan Perry (Derelict) and Dave Kunstatter (Glass Passenger).
Currently focusing on delivering a series of expressive and powerful performances in support of Shredded eagle, Sad tambourine, Kautzman has more than proven that with enough musical fortitude home truly is wherever you make it.
lineup
tessakautzman songwriter