BIO
Living near but not too close to her painfully morphing birthplace, Portland, with her beloved husband, Jay, Rachel makes sometimes disturbing yet ultimately sensible songs, mostly on the piano. She’s not a lover of summer. She reads a lot and watches tv and likes to meet the kitties on late night neighborhood walks.
She used to get out a lot more but worried frequently about going crazy, had a nervous breakdown and was a hermit for about 8 years, during which she wrote a lot. She writes a lot still.
Her music reflects a love/hate relationship with humanity and persistent awe at the beauty and horror in the world. Trying to capture that sweet and sour thing in a song is what she’s mostly trying to do.
Her last album, Falimy, was released in 2014. Falimy, World So Sweet and Songs Without a Home (a little extra clump of previously unrecorded songs) and her previous four records, Susan Storm's Ugly Sister and Other Saints and Superheroes, Half Hours With the Lower Creatures, 7 Small Winter Songs, and Ormolu were all recorded in Portland, Oregon with audio midwife, Jeff Stuart Saltzman (Menomena, Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus). Her new album will be released June 1, 2018.
In addition to her own music she's provided backup for a lot of Portland bands' recordings and projects (Leigh Marble, hurtbird, Fear of Heights, Scotland Barr, Holcombe Waller, Noah Hall, Jeremy Serwer, Vellarest, Pilar French, Steve Wilkinson). She's a soprano veteran of Portland classical groups Cappella Romana, Portland Baroque Orchestra and Trinity Consort, and Seattle's Tudor Choir.
She's been featured on NPR, Fluxblog and in the unusual and critically praised music compendium by the late Scott Miller, "Music: What Happened?"
Rachel was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.
"Brown has a gift for channeling her inner demons into a mesmerizing world of sound" (Robin Hilton, NPR)
"Rachel Taylor Brown--another great unknown." (Bob Boilen, NPR)
"The brilliance of her music is that piano-based songwriting can often times be formulaic, trite and uninspiring, and what she has done for four consecutive albums is anything but. Her music is daring, fearless and chilling, and even sometimes catchy. A cerebral, free-thinking talent that isn't afraid to take chances and stir things up a bit. Somewhere, somehow John Lennon is smiling." (Gregory Robson, Absolute Punk)
"She is a visionary and a true artist" (Jordan Blum, Delusions of Adequacy)
"Unfaltering and brave" (Jedd Beaudoin, Popmatters)
"For those who like their music to challenge their ears, hearts and minds, Rachel Taylor Brown remains a seemingly inexhaustible resource." (Casey Jarman, Willamette Week)
"A songwriter and performer who has reached a level few will" (Zaph Mann, OPB)
"This is art as hard—and ultimately rewarding—as life itself." (Jeff Rosenberg, Willamette Week)
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Please direct any questions to Howard Wuelfing, Howlin Wuelf Media.
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• POPMATTERS: FALIMY REVIEW. "A razor sharp look at life through a young lady's eyes" Jonathan Muirhead
• ZACHARY MULE: FALIMY REVIEW Kevin Renick
• KBOO FM TOP TEN ALBUMS of 2014: FALIMY Richard Lindsay/Radio Lost and Found, Kill Ugly Ra
• CHRISTIAN B. CAREY: Rachel Taylor Brown's 7 small winter songs Christian B. Carey
• THAT MUSIC MAGAZINE Interview: For No One: Rachel Taylor Brown Continues Doing Things Her Way Erinn Fortson
• THE BIG TAKEOVER: FALIMY review Chuck Foster
• POPDOSE: Album Review: Rachel Taylor Brown, "FALIMY" Rob Ross
• DAGGER ZINE review Dagger Zine
• UTNE READER MONTHLY MUSIC SAMPLER: featuring 'Robin' from FALIMY Christian Williams
• WICKED SPINS RADIO/UK: Rachel Taylor Brown Interview snuff monkey
• babysue.com: FALIMY review LMNOP
• WONDERING SOUND: FALIMY album stream, review J. Edward Keyes
• THE BIG TAKEOVER: Chuck Foster's Top 10 Chuck Foster
• OLA's KOOL KITCHEN: FALiMY on the radio DJ Ola
• PITTSBURGH IN TUNE: FALIMY review Jeffrey Sisk
• THE PORTLAND MERCURY: FALIMY feature/interview Robert Ham
• EAST BAY EXPRESS: FALIMY review Mark Keresman
• HEAVY METAL TIME MACHINE: FALIMY review Andy
• FAME: FALIMY review Mark S. Tucker
• HELLO CRUEL WORLD/KZME: Radio FALIMY & earlier albums feature, interview John B. Jones
• THE PORTLAND MERCURY: FALIMY album release show preview, streaming Ned Lannaman
• JERSEY BEAT: FALIMY review Joe Wawrzyniak
• INNOCENT WORDS: Q&A with Rachel Taylor Brown Troy Michael
• GHETTOBLASTER: FALIMY interview with Rachel Taylor Brown Timothy Anderl
• HOWLIN WUELF MEDIA: LIttle Fucker streaming Howard Wuelfing
• THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY: FALIMY review S.P. Clarke
• OREGON MUSIC NEWS: Interview and FALIMY review Tom D'Antoni
• WILLAMETTE WEEK: FALIIMY review Jeff Rosenberg
• THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE: FALIMY show preview, review Rob Culverwell
• "MUSIC: WHAT HAPPENED?"--"Stagg Field" (2008) and "Modesto Waltz" (2011) by Rachel Taylor Brown Scott Miller
• HELLHOUND: Fearless Songwriter Rachel Taylor Brown Set to Release 7th Album 'Falimy' on Penury Pop Records Hellhound
• WILLAMETTE WEEK: The Best Albums of 2011 (incl. World So Sweet/Rachel Taylor Brown) MS, CJ, et al
• NPR: Rachel Taylor Brown Robin Hilton
• NPR: Rachel Taylor Brown/All Songs Considered Bob Boilen
• WILLAMETTE WEEK: Cut of the Day, Rachel Taylor Brown, "City of Angels," Songs Without a Home (self-released) Robert Ham
• DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY review: World So Sweet Jordan Blum
• POPMATTERS: World So Sweet Review Jedd Beaudoin
• HEROES of INDIE MUSIC: A Very 2011 Indie Christmas CASTLEQWAYR
• G-POP A Rising Star Feature: Rachel Taylor Brown Melissa MInners
• GOATSDINNER: World So Sweet review Goatsden
• ALTSOUNDS: review, World So Sweet
• BERKELEY PLACE review: World So Sweet Ekko
• KINK-FM RADIO INTERVIEW: Rachel Taylor Brown Inessa
• ZAP TOWN review: World So Sweet Andrew Duncan
• OPB MUSIC review: World So Sweet Zaph Mann
• THE OREGONIAN Interview: Rachel & World So Sweet Jake Ten Pas
• PORTLAND MERCURY album review: World So Sweet Ezra Caraeff
• WILLAMETTE WEEK review: World So Sweet Casey Jarman
• ARTCLECTIC on-air interview: Rachel and World So Sweet Dennise Kowalczyk
• OREGON MUSIC NEWS: preview/review, World So Sweet Tom D'Antoni
• KZME RADIO BLOG Interview: Rachel Taylor Brown/World So Sweet Dennise Kowalczyk
• AOL/SPINNER MUSIC LISTENING PARTY: Rachel Taylor Brown/World So Sweet featured AOL/Spinner.com
• MVREMIX: World So Sweet review Candra Kolodziej
• THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY: World So Sweet review S.P. Clarke
• CULTUREPHILE/PORTLAND MONTHLY MAG: Show preview, World So Sweet Anne Adams
• THE VINYL DISTRICT: My First Record with Rachel Taylor Brown 2011 Rachel Taylor Brown
• THE CELEBRITY CAFE: World So Sweet review Nicole Swanson
• PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE feature 2011 Anne Adams
• OREGON MUSIC NEWS: "World So Sweet" in progress Tom D'Antoni
• FULL BIO--SUSAN STORM'S UGLY SISTER and OTHER SAINTS and SUPERHEROES (NAT. RELEASE: 7/7/09) Alex Steininger, In Music We Trust
• FLUXTUMBLR: "more of the best of early '09" Matthew Perpetua
• FLUXBLOG "ugly sister" feature matthew perpetua
• POPDOSE: Parlour-to-Parlour video interview Michael Fortes
• RACKET MAG "ugly sister" review and interview John Winn
• THE DEVIL HAS THE BEST TUNA: UK interview
• PENS EYE VIEW "ugly sister" interview
• ROCK AND ROLL AND MEANDERING NONSENSE "ugly sister" review Bob Vinyl
• ABSOLUTE PUNK "ugly sister" review gregory robson
• WILLAMETTE WEEK "ugly sister" feature casey jarman
• HERE COMES THE FLOOD - "ugly sister" review from The Netherlands Hans Werksman
• THE OREGONIAN "ugly sister" review scott lewis
• ZAPTOWN "ugly sister" interview/feature andrew duncan
• OREGONLIVE podcast interview--"ugly sister" lynne terry
• BLITZMAG "ugly sister" review michael mcdowell
• OPB.org "ugly sister" review zaph mann
• BULLZEYE "ugly sister" review Michael Fortes
• 411 MANIA "ugly sister" review Paul Hollingsworth
• INK 19 "ugly sister" review Tim Wardyn
• PLAYBACK STL "ugly sister" review Jim Dunn
• COLLECTED SOUNDS "ugly sister" review Amy Lotsberg
• PORTLAND MERCURY "ugly sister" show preview ezra ace caraeff
• BLOG CRITICS "ugly sister" review Jon Sobel
• 30MUSIC.COM "ugly sister" review Kevin Coss
• PORTLAND TRIBUNE "ugly sister" show preview/review barbara mitchell
• STATIC MULTIMEDIA "ugly sister" review davi marx
• NEWS4U "ugly sister" review nick durcholz
• DRYVETYMEONLINE "ugly sister" review Robert Ham
• MELODIC.NET "ugly sister" review Kaj Roth
• KINK-FM "ugly sister" feature dean kattari
• AIDING & ABETTING "ugly sister" recommend jon
• CAMPUS CIRCLE "ugly sister" review Doug Simpson
• FRANTIK "ugly sister" review gian erquiza
• THE DELI MAGAZINE "ugly sister" review Tanya Silverman
• MUSICVIDEOVIDEOVIDEO! "Saint Fina" Crappy Home Video, Susan Storm's Ugly Sister and Other Saints and Superheroes! rachel taylor brown
• FULL BIO--HALF HOURS WITH THE LOWER CREATURES Alex Steininger, In Music We Trust
• NPR: All Songs Considered, Second Stage "Creature" features Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, NPR
• SLUG Mag's Top 5 of 2008 Editor's List--"Creatures" Kat Kellermeyer
• Music Emissions: "Creatures" Review/Editor's List Top Ten Albums of 2008 Mike Wood
• Mix Me a Molotov--"Creatures"/Top 11 albums of 2008 John B. Jones
• WOT90 Radio--"Creatures" 2008 Album of the Year Mark Collins
• KBOO's 2008 Year in Review--"Best Local Artist" John B. Jones
• Blogcritics "Creatures" Review Jon Sobel, Blogcritics Magazine
• All Music Guide/Rachel Taylor Brown Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
• Venus Zine--"Creatures" Review Saundra Sorenson
• Aced Magazine - Interview Allie Mathews, Aced Magazine
• Playback:stl "Creatures" Review Kevin Renick, Playback:stl
• SLUG Magazine "Creatures" Review Kat Kellermeyer, SLUG Magazine
• Willamette Week "Creatures" Review Jeff Rosenberg, Willamette Week
• bullz-eye interview Michael Fortes, Bullz-eye.com
• Bullz-eye.com: "Creatures" Review Michael Fortes, Bullz-eye.com
• Synthesis Weekly Magazine: "Creatures" Review Rick Barnett, Synthesis Weekly Magazine
• Ink 19: "Creatures" Review Tim Wardyn, Ink 19
• babysue.com/LMNOP/ "Creatures" review babysue.com/LMNOP
• 30MUSIC.com--"Creatures" review Dan Shvartsman, 30MUSIC.com
• Live Music Preview: the Oregonian Luciana Lopez, The Oregonian
• Readjunk.com/"Creatures" Review Adam Coozer, readjunk.com
• "Creatures" Review: Portland Tribune Barbara Mitchell, The Portland Tribune
• Obscure Sound: "Creatures" Review Mike Mineo, Obscure Sound
• Hard Like Algebra.com/Rachel Taylor Brown: layering, piano, god Jim Withington, Hard Like Algebra
• All Music Guide/"Creatures" review Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide
• The Chickenfish Speaks/ "Creatures" review Mite Mutant, The Chickenfish Speaks
• Obscure Sound Compilation: Best of February 2008 Mike Mineo, Obscure Sound
• There Stands the Glass/ "Creatures" Review There Stands the Glass
• Reax Music Magazine/"Creatures" review George Shaw, Reax Music Magazine
• "Next Big Thing" /Live PDX.com Tom D'Antoni, LivePDX.com
• Q&A, LivePDX.com, 2/14/08 Bob Ham, LivePDX.com
• 5 Live Top Picks, 1/4/08, The Oregonian Luciana Lopez
• WW Picks, 1/9/08 Amy McCullough, Willamette Week
• Portland Tribune Picks, 1/8/08 Barbara Mitchell, The Portland Tribune
• WW Picks, 2/16/08 Casey Jarman, Willamette Week
• The Oregonian: "Ormolu" Review Scott D. Lewis, The Oregonian
• The Portland Alliance: "Ormolu" Review Dave Mazza, The Portland Alliance
• The Portland Tribune: "Ormolu" Barbara Mitchell, The Portland Tribune
• WOT90s radio: "Ormolu" named 2006 #2 CD of the Year Mark Collins, WOT90s radio
• Touring the Indies: "Ormolu" Review Frank Gualtier, Touring the Indies
• Apotheosis di Musica: Ormolu review Giovanni, Apotheosis di Musica
• Live Show Review, 2007 the stonewailer.com
• Tudor Choir: Jacob Clemens non Papa: Requiem and Motets Patricia Herlevi
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