Shara Nova
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with My Brightest Diamond. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2011. |
Shara Worden | |
|---|---|
 Shara Worden performing with My Brightest Diamond at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee in 2006. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | April 22, 1974 |
| Genres | Folk, indie rock, experimental |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, producer, musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, piano, ukulele, kalimba |
| Years active | 1997-present |
| Labels | Asthmatic Kitty |
| Website | www.mybrightestdiamond.com |
Shara Worden is the lead singer and songwriter for My Brightest Diamond. She was previously a backup vocalist for Sufjan Stevens and the frontwoman of Awry.
Life
Shara is the daughter of a National Accordion Champion-winning father and a mother who was an organist for their Pentecostal church. Worden grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, listening to gospel, jazz, and classical music and performing in the church choir. Worden moved throughout her childhood, and graduated from the University of North Texas with a BA.[1] She moved to New York City, where she continued to study opera, on the Upper West Side during the day.
Career
In 2006, Shara was nominated for Female Artist of the Year in the PLUG Independent Music Awards. She made a guest appearance on the Jedi Mind Tricks album Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell in 2006 and on the Vinnie Paz album Season of the Assassin in 2010. In 2003 Shara Worden played xylophone and keyboard, and sang background vocals on two tracks of the CD Recession Special by Bogs Visionary Orchestra.
She performs guest vocals on "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" and "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing" from the 2009 album from The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love, singing vocals for the part of "The Queen". She also is performing with The Decemberists on their "A Short Fazed Hovel Tour" along with Becky Stark from Lavender Diamond. She recently performed vocals on Sufjan Stevens' album The Age of Adz, notably taking the lead during a section of "Impossible Soul".
Discography
Solo Albums
| YEAR | ALBUM ARTIST NAME | ALBUM TITLE |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Shara | Word |
| 2004 | Shara Worden | Shara Worden Live at Schubas 11/18/2004 |
Collaborations and Guest Appearances (where credited as Shara Worden)
Albums
| YEAR | ARTIST | ALBUM TITLE | VOCALS: LEAD/CO-LEAD/BACKING |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Mingo Fishtrap | Succotash | Co-Lead |
| 2005 | Sufjan Stevens | Illinoise | Backing |
| 2006 | Sufjan Stevens | The Avalanche | Backing |
| 2008 | Ready Fire Aim | This Changes Nothing | Backing |
| 2009 | DM Stith | Heavy Ghost | Backing |
| 2010 | Sufjan Stevens | Age Of Adz | Backing |
| 2010 | Clogs | The Creatures In The Garden Of Lady Walton | Lead (select songs) |
| 2010 | Sarah Kirkland Snider | Penelope | Lead |
| 2011 | (Collaboration) | Letters to Distant Cities | Lead; spoken word |
Individual Songs
| YEAR | ARTIST | ALBUM TITLE | SONG TITLE | VOCALS: LEAD/CO-LEAD/BACKING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Jedi Mind Tricks | Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell | When All Light Dies | Co-Lead |
| 2006 | Jedi Mind Tricks | Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell | Razorblade Salvation | Co-Lead |
| 2006 | Pedestrian | Ghostly Life | Overwhelmed | Backing |
| 2009 | (Bifrost Arts Compilation Album) | Come O Spirit! | Kyrie | Co-Lead |
| 2009 | The Decemberists | The Hazards of Love | The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid | Co-Lead |
| 2009 | The Decemberists | The Hazards of Love | The Queen's Rebuke | Lead |
| 2009 | 900X | Music For Lubbock, 1980 | Lands | Lead |
| 2010 | Vinnie Paz | Season Of The Assassin | Keep Moving' On | Co-Lead |
| 2010 | David Byrne & Fatboy Slim | Here Lies Love | Seven Years | Co-Lead |
| 2011 | Owen Pallett | Export(demo) | The Great Elsewhere | Lead |
| 2011 | Prefuse 73 | Only She Chapters | The Only Hand to Hold | Lead |
| 2011 | Uphill Racer | How It Feels To Find There's More | Overfrail | Lead |
| 2011 | Colin Stetson | New History Warfare 2: Judges | Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes | Lead |
| 2011 | Stateless | Matilda | I'm On Fire | Co-Lead |
| 2011 | Son Lux | We Are Rising | Rebuild | Backing |
| 2011 | The Revival Hour | Hold Back/Run Away (7" Single) | Hold Back | Backing |
| 2012 | s / s / s | Beak & Claw | If This Is Real | Backing (Chorus) |
With AwRY
Albums
| YEAR | ALBUM TITLE | ALBUM TYPE |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | AwRY (aka "The Orange Album") | Full-length studio release |
| 2001 | Quiet B Sides | Full-length studio release |
With My Brightest Diamond
Albums
| YEAR | ALBUM TITLE | ALBUM TYPE |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Bring Me The Workhorse | Full-length studio release |
| 2006 | Disappear | EP (5 songs) |
| 2007 | Tear It Down | Full-length double album / Remixes |
| 2008 | Shark Demos | EP (6 songs, alternate versions) |
| 2008 | A Thousand Shark's Teeth | Full-length studio release |
| 2008 | From The Top Of The World | EP (4 songs) |
| 2008 | Inside A Boy | Single (4 songs) |
| 2008 | Shark Remixes Vol 1: Alfred Brown | Remix EP |
| 2008 | The Black Sessions | Limited-edition CD of live show at Studio 106, Paris |
| 2009 | Shark Remixes Vol 2: Son Lux | Remix EP |
| 2009 | Shark Remixes Vol 3: Roberto C. Lange | Remix EP |
| 2010 | Shark Remixes Vol 4: DM Stith | Remix EP |
| 2010 | Shark Remixes | Limited-edition signed compilation of all previous Shark Remix Volumes 1 - 4 |
| 2011 | All Things Will Unwind | Full-length studio release |
| 2011 | Be Brave | Single (3 song versions) |
| 2012 | I Have Never Loved Someone | 7" single, alternate version, with "Bird on a Wire" B-side |
Collaborations and Compilation Contributions
| YEAR | ARTIST (OR PUBLISHER) | ALBUM TITLE | SONG TITLE | ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | (Asthmatic Kitty Records) | Mews Too | Riding Horses | MBD recording of a song originally published by AwRY |
| 2007 | (Stereogum) | OKX: A Tribute to OK Computer | Lucky | MBD remake of Radiohead song |
| 2007 | (family records) | Cross-Pollination: The Mixtape Vol. 1 | Hi, Remember Me? | |
| 2008 | (Engine Room Recordings) | Guilt By Association Vol. 2 | Tainted Love | MBD remake of Gloria Jones/Soft Cell song |
| 2008 | (Animal World) | I'll Stay 'Til After Christmas | Nature Boy | MBD remake of eden ahbez/Nat King Cole song |
| 2008 | (Mojo Magazine) | The White Album Recovered No. 2 | Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey | MBD remake of Beatles song |
| 2009 | (4AD Records) | Dark Was The Night | Feeling Good | MBD remake of Nina Simone song |
| 2009 | (Biggest Label Ever) | (released as single, digital download) | The Honey Bee | MBD contribution to support the Invisible Children charity |
| 2010 | My Brightest Diamond/Dayna Kurtz | Gone Away/Postcards From Downtown | Postcards From Downtown | Split single, each artist covers a song from the other |
| 2011 | Liz Janes | Time & Space | Bitty Thing | Shara Worden vocals, credited as My Brightest Diamond |
| 2012 | (Mojo Magazine) | The Songs of Leonard Cohen Covered | Bird On A Wire | MBD remake of Leonard Cohen song, with Marc Ribot |
References
External links
- http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/01/28/live-shara-worden-gets-fancy-at-lincoln-center
- http://asthmatickitty.com/my-brightest-diamond
- http://pacificlectic.com/2011/10/18/the-evolution-of-shara-worden/
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