Songs: Ohia
Songs: Ohia was one man -- Jason Molina -- a tenor guitar-wielding songwriter from the shores of Lake Erie. Critics often compared Songs: Ohia to Palace/Will Oldham, and while sonically the comparison is valid (especially in Molina's voice), Molina's ardent, soul-searching lyrics were more aptly compared to Neil Young or Leonard Cohen. Molina's early work as Songs: Ohia was often spare and skeletal, in particular on 1999's Axxess & Ace and 2000's The Lioness, where the music reflected the dark themes of the lyrics. Later work under the group's banner, such as 2002's Didn't It Rain and 2003's Magnolia Electric Co., saw Molina embracing a more full-bodied musical statement with a strong country influence, though his lyrics were as dour and personal as ever.
Molina was born in Lorain, Ohio. Growing up on a heavy dosage of Black Sabbath, Molina began his musical career playing bass in heavy metal bands around Cleveland. Always a songwriter, Molina eventually decided to perform and record solo with help as needed. He developed a method of tuning his guitar that complemented his voice and worked with his background as a bass player. Finding his niche in indie rock circles, Molina made home recordings under the names Songs: Albian, Songs: Radix, and Songs: Unitas to pass out at live shows. Settling on Songs: Ohia, Molina released a single on the Palace label in 1995. The first Songs: Ohia full-length followed in 1997; released on the Secretly Canadian label, the self-titled album garnered critical acclaim. Songs: Ohia continued to release full-length albums -- including 1998's Impala and 1999's Axxess & Ace -- and a number of singles on various American and European labels, and won a large following in many European countries, most notably Holland and Germany.
In 2000, Songs: Ohia released two albums, The Lioness and Ghost Tropic, which featured musical assistance from Alasdair Roberts (Appendix Out) and Shane Aspegren (Lullaby for the Working Class); the latter album saw Molina beginning to incorporate ethnic musics into his compositions. After the limited-edition, tour-only CD Protection Spells, Songs: Ohia released its first live set in late 2001. Documenting an Italian show from the previous year, a large part of Mi Sei Apparso Come un Fantasma (You Come to Me as a Ghost) consisted of unreleased (and as yet untitled) songs. By this time, Molina had given his tenor guitar a rest in favor of a regular six-string instrument and had put together a full band to back him. However, 2002's Didn't It Rain found Molina working with members of neo-bluegrass outfit Jim & Jennie & the Pinetops, achieving an almost gospel sound that was a vast departure from the dense feel of Ghost Tropic.
Constantly recording and writing new songs, Songs: Ohia released a handful of singles and EPs in 2002, including a split EP with Louisville's My Morning Jacket and a collaborative EP (under the name Amalgamated Sons of Rest) with Will Oldham and Ali Roberts. Pyramid Electric Co. and Magnolia Electric Co., originally conceived as a double album, were released separately in early 2003. The former, a sparse solo album, was recorded with Mike Mogis (from Lullaby for the Working Class), while the latter featured a full band and was recorded by Steve Albini. Sadly, Jason Molina suffered from alcoholism for years, which ultimately led to his death from organ failure in March 2013 at the age of 39. In 2018, Songs: Ohia's volume in the Temporary Residence EP series Travels in Constants was reissued and appeared on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. In 2018, The Lioness was given an expanded re-release as Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions, which included an extra album's worth of unreleased songs from the period.
© Jason Nickey /TiVo
Discographie
23 album(s) • Trié par Meilleures ventes
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Live: Vanquishers
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 16 oct. 2024
Disponible en24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
VU Anxiety
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 20 janv. 2022
Disponible en24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Cabwaylingo
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 10 sept. 2024
Disponible en24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
The Lioness
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 17 janv. 2000
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Ghost Tropic
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 13 nov. 2000
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Didn’t It Rain
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 5 mars 2002
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Magnolia Electric Co.
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 4 mars 2003
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Hecla & Griper (15th Anniversary Edition)
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 1 août 1997
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Live at WOBC Oct. 12, 1994
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 12 oct. 1994
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Lioness (Deluxe Edition)
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 23 nov. 2018
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Axxess & Ace
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 15 mars 1999
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Travels in Constants
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Temporary Residence Ltd. le 30 déc. 2001
Disponible en24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Magnolia Electric Co. (Deluxe Edition)
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 4 mars 2003
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Didn't It Rain (Deluxe Edition)
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 19 déc. 2015
Pitchfork: Best New ReissueDisponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Songs: Ohia
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 1 janv. 1997
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Journey On: Collected Singles
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 8 déc. 2015
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Protection Spells
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 1 juil. 2000
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Ghost
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 1 mars 1999
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Impala
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Secretly Canadian le 1 avr. 1998
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Split
My Morning Jacket, Songs: Ohia
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Epitaph le 19 mars 2002
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -