My lovely friends, A.A Wallace, Mike Din and Marc Francis, have created beautiful remixes of my song "Little Voice" to get you out of the winter blues and dreaming about spring time!
LITTLE VOICE WENT TO #1 ON CBC RADIO 3 JANUARY 21st!!!
“...seemingly effortless hooks. We can only hope Higgs' full-length puts as many new spins on the traditional female singer/songwriter character class as this excellent EP." Chartattack
“As an introduction to the coming new album, Little Voice does a fantastic job of teasing and building anticipation. I was starting to think that 2011 would be a slow going year for new music, but Rebekah Higgs looks set to be a big voice in the coming months.” Quick Before It Melts
“Little Voice is a marvellous EP that raises the bar high, but with the right company, Higgs's sophomore LP should have no trouble Fosbury Flop-ing over it.” Exclaim
"The ep was produced by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse), who wisely lets Higgs big voice shine on the waltzy title track." National Post
On Sunday Nathan, Daniel and I marched our gear up to construction burdened Roncesvalles Avenue to perform "Little Voice" in a dirt pit for unsuspecting pedestrians. It was really fun.
Sorry for my lackadaisical blogging over the last several months. The quick update is that I starred in a feature film now titled "Flammable Hearts" which soaked up all my energy and then followed that up by moving to Toronto.
The long and the short of it is that last winter I went to Riverport NS to record my album "Odd Fellowship" at Diego Medina's converted and freezing cold 5200 sq foot Confidence Lodge. With space heaters and a newly tuned piano, I recorded 12 songs with producer Brian Deck from chicago best know for his work with Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine and Califone. We made delicious comfort food, drank lots of tea, and spent 2 weeks in the 20 below winter weather trapped in the old Odd Fellows meeting hall.
Here is the view for the studio window (can you feel how cold it is?)
(Brian loves this picture of him playing the metal spool!)
From those 12 songs, I have chosen 4 tracks to launch my return to the solo artist world with. "Little Voice" the title track to the album was written for my adorable nephew Easton who sings on the full length record. "Miserably Together" the second track showcases my love for depression and psychedelics. "Asleep All Winter" was originally recorded for the short film "The Opening" and is the only track that I perform all the instruments entirely on my own, and well "Drunk Love" is about... drunk love and an odd to Eric's Trip and the 90's. Stewart Innes described it as sounding like the Breeders, and Laura Dawe made me a music video over a drunken spring night.
Because I have decided to do a Digital release only (I do have a few hard copies for shows) I am trying out a bunch of new internet tools.
I am really enjoying bandcamp.com (as you can see from all the above links!) This site allows users to name their own price (following in the footsteps fo Radioheads "In Rainbows"). If you visit me at www.rebekahhiggs.bandcamp.com you can download the full Little Voice EP for as little as $1. You can also donate as much as you like to the artist. This is wonderful as we all know the music industry is gasping for air.
I am also trying this new twitter application where you get a free track simply by tweeting about the song! http://www.tweetforatrack.com/RebekahHiggs here's hoping I go viral!!!
If you are in Ontario in December I am playing 4 shows with the wonderful band The Rural Alberta Advantage a show with Yellow Jacket Avenger and Jon Samuel in Montreal and and a show just after Christmas in Halifax. I would love to see you at a show, your support as always is a god send!
Tour Dates
December 15th The Casbah, Hamilton ON w. The Rural Alberta Advantage, 10pm
December 16th Lee's Palace, Toronto ON w. The Rural Alberta Advantage, 10pm
December 17th Le Cagibi, Montreal QC w. Yellow Jacket Avenger, Jon Samuel, 8pm $7
December 17th Il Motore, Montreal QC w. The Rural Alberta Advantage 10pm
December 18th Ritual, Ottawa ON w. The Rural Alberta Advantage 10pm
December 28th The Paragon, Halifax NS 9pm
Well that is all for now... I hope you feel well informed. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think about the new EP!
Thanks to Kirk at Salvatores my raw food world has been blow right open! He lent me two raw cook books and a dehydrator and I have been busy discovering new recipes to broaden my menu!
Below is a recipe I developed from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen, a wonderful living food cook book.
EGG-LESS SPANISH SCRAMBLE
Here is the basis for all scrambles:
1 cup of dry raw almonds 1/2 a cup of raw cashews or sunflower seeds 1/4 tsp of sea salt 1 tsp turmeric 1/2 cup of water
Once you have mixed together these ingredients in your food procesor you will have a chunky nut pate which you can season and flavor a different way everyday!
Here is what I ate for breakfast today...
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro leaves 1/2 a cup of diced tomatoes 1/4 cup of diced spanish onions 1 batch of the above scramble 1 cup of spinach leaves pinch of ground pepper
Toss these ingredients together and you have a tasty savory breakfast!
2 cups 1/4-inch-diced watermelon 1 orange juiced 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 cucumber, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice 1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice 1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice 2 medium garlic cloves, minced 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional) 1 lime juiced 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, basil or cilantro Salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions
Process half of the ingredients with the fresh organge and lime juice. Add olive oil while mixing. Transfer to a medium bowl, along with remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Can be made several hours before serving.)
Rebekah Higgs is an instrument all her own. At times happy, often haunting, her voice echoes and chimes like a xylophone French kissing a wa-wa pedal. Produced by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse, Califone), Little Voice is not only a shiny new four song EP to wrap around yourself for warmth against the coming winter but also a glimpse into what fruit Rebekah Higgs' upcoming sophomore full length record will bear come the new year.
Sly and coaxing, everything is ethereal as Higgs' voice is flooded over and over, layered by the Kaoss pad. Deck and Higgs performed the better part of every instrument on Little Voice. This weird, beautiful mixture is a navigation through loveless territory at times, the wizened lens that comes with getting to know the night. The arrangements are comforting yet disarming all at once. Songs like the title track “Little Voice" and "Miserably Together" evoke a dizzying nostalgia, while "Asleep All Winter" and "Drunk Love" are ripe for dancing or making out on the couch.
With Little Voice, Rebekah Higgs returns from a two year stint fronting electro glam-thrash band Ruby Jean, with powerful and resonant songs, both lyrically and musically. Although she’s been busy, it is obvious from the honesty and vulnerability of Little Voice that Higgs has had time to stare out more windows, take longer drives across the country, spend more time with children, and perhaps even fall in and out of love a few times.
