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Mary Fahl

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Mary Fahl

Mary Fahl is an American singer, songwriter and actress known for her work with October Project in the mid-1990s and, more recently, for her solo singing and acting career. She was born Mary Faldermeyer in Rockland County, New York.

Training

Fahl first considered being an actress and went to McGill University to study medieval literature. While at McGill, she participated in several musical theatre productions; but, because of her contralto voice, she often lost to sopranos in auditions for singing parts. She and her sister left the United States to spend 1½ years in Europe; she said that she received an "informal graduate degree in music" by checking out vinyl records at a library in Holland and listening to and analyzing them.[1]

October Project

In the mid-1990s, Fahl became known for her work with October Project. She joined the band in 1990 after being introduced to bandmates Emil Adler and Julie Flanders by a mutual friend. The band released two full-length albums on Epic Records — October Project (1993) and Falling Farther In (1995) — before Epic dropped them from their lineup in 1996. Fahl's explanation for this in 2005 was that October Project did not have any hits on Falling Farther In.[2] Fahl's experience was that the band broke up the same day that the label dropped them.[3]

Three members of the original band have since reunited under the name October Project, with Marina Belica as lead vocalist.

Solo career

After leaving October Project, she embarked on a solo career, doing solo concerts and commercial voiceovers.[3] As a solo artist, she has done some collaborations and covers; however, she has written most of her own songs. Fahl claims that music in films greatly influences her as a songwriter. She specifically cites the works of Nico, Tom Petty, and Joni Mitchell; and she wants a haunting sound in her work that is "just on the edge of creepiness".[1]

She released an EP, Lenses of Contact, in 2001 for Roughmix Records. Lenses of Contact featured four songs: "Raging Child", "Paolo", "Meant to Say", and "Redemption"; the title of the EP came from a line in "Paolo". Lenses of Contact contained elements of folk music, rock 'n' roll, and pop, was released to favorable reviews. The All-Music Guide gave it a 4 1/2 star rating, out of 5 stars. They compared her to Mitchell and Judy Collins, although noting that she belted more than Mitchell, and concluded, "This promising solo debut demonstrates that Fahl is a very spiritual and moving storyteller in her own right."[4]

Within two years, Fahl had signed with Sony Classical and released her first full-length album as a solo artist. The Other Side of Time had 14 songs in all (three of which were on Lenses of Contact) and featured two songs that would figure prominently on film soundtracks. "Going Home" appeared in the opening of Gods and Generals; the album's closing track, Fahl's version of the traditional Irish tune "The Dawning of the Day", was featured in The Guys, along with several reprises of the song. Fahl wrote her lyrics to "The Dawning of the Day" to honor firefighters who died in the September 11, 2001, attacks.[2] Ronan Tynan performed the song in 2006 at the re-opening dedication for the Seven World Trade Center.[5]

The Other Side of Time showed some additional sides to Fahl's style, bringing in opera styles in "Una furtiva lagrima" and Middle Eastern influences in "Ben Aindi Habibi". These two tracks, which Fahl sang in Italian and Mozarabic respectively, were the first non-English language songs to appear on her records. "Ben Aindi Habibi" was a traditional kharja written in the 11th or 12th century.[6] Fahl said in an interview that she had discovered "Ben Aindi Habibi" while on tour with the October Project and considered it her favorite song on The Other Side of Time.[7] In an interview with Liane Hansen of National Public Radio, Fahl stated that she performed these songs on The Other Side of Time because she was signed to a classical label and a pop label would not have let her make that type of record.[7]

Overall, The Other Side of Time met with mixed reviews. Film Score Monthly called her "a brasher, more exciting version of Enya and Sissel" and concluded, "Mary Fahl, thankfully, is not your typical pop singer. Somewhat unwieldy, but always interesting. More filmmakers should pay attention to the vocal talent on display in this CD."[8] The All-Music Guide praised her past work with the October Project and her first solo EP but gave her only 2 out of 5 stars for The Other Side of Time, saying, "She still has the big voice, but she's opting for an easier course of being eclectic by tossing faint nods at different styles while trying to hew firmly to the center of the road.... This just ends up being a bland waste of a mighty talent."[9]

Since the release of The Other Side of Time, Fahl has been acting in a production of Murder Mystery Blues, a comedy which is based on short stories by Woody Allen. Fahl and the other actors also serve as musicians who play the play's score.[10] The play was originally performed at the Warehouse Theater in London and has since moved to an off-Broadway theater in New York.[11]

As of September 2006 Fahl completed the recording of Mary Fahl: From the Dark Side of the Moon, for V2 Records, produced by Mark Doyle and David Werner and mixed by Bob Clearmountain, with Doyle also provided nearly all of the instrumentation. The album is a song-by-song "re-imagining" of Pink Floyd's classic album The Dark Side of the Moon.[12] The album remains unreleased,[13] although advance copies were sent out prior to the restructuring of V2.[14]

A ten-track album, tentatively titled Gravity, is expected to be released in early 2010.[15]

Discography

Videography

  • "Going Home" (2003) – from The Other Side of Time

References

  1. ^ a b "Electric Review". On the CD Watch. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  2. ^ a b "USA Today". Talk Today: Singer Mary Fahl. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  3. ^ a b "City Paper". Music Picks: Mary Fahl. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  4. ^ "Allmusic". Allmusic ((( Lenses of Contact > Overview ))). Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  5. ^ "Officially Linda Eder". The Voice: Linda Eder's Official Fan Newsletter - Summer/Fall 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  6. ^ "Sony BMG Masterworks". Mary Fahl: About. Retrieved 14 December 2006.
  7. ^ a b "NPR". Mary Fahl. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  8. ^ "Film Score Monthly". "5/14/03: Film Score Divas – Past, Present, and Future. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  9. ^ "Allmusic". Allmusic ((( The Other Side of Time > Overview ))). Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  10. ^ "Playbill". Playbill News: Murder Mystery Blues – Woody Allen Shorts on Stage. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  11. ^ "59E59". I'm a Camera presents Murder Mystery Blues. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  12. ^ "Mark Doyle". Mary Fahl's Dark Side of the Moon: A Backgrounder. Retrieved 13 December 2006. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  13. ^ Mark Doyle, official website
  14. ^ "V2 Restructured" Billboard.com
  15. ^ "Mary Fahl Discography". MaryFahl.com. Retrieved 2010-02-02.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Fahl&oldid=342412251"