Artist description Marianne Nowottny created some of the boldest and bizarre music of her generation; her deep, voluptuous voice and torchy, cabaret-style songwriting were separated by an unbridgeable gap from the MTV-purveyed, homogenized strip-mall music that the majority of her peers devoured. In the eighth grade, Nowottny, who busied herself writing poetry, met a like-minded and classically trained pianist named Donna Bailey. The two soon began collaborating musically under the name Shell, experimenting with a cassette recorder and a Radio Shack keyboard in their bedrooms, committing hours of utterly strange psychedelic music to tape. Nowottny moved to the northern New Jersey town of Sparta in 1998 to be with her father; it was there that she bought a piece of musical equipment that would help define her sound as a solo artist -- the Concertmate 990 keyboard. Early on, her mother had taught her the basics of the piano. Now inspired to make her own music in Bailey's absence, Nowottny began picking out, by ear, the keyboard parts of Shell songs, and eventually moved on to incorporate eastern modes and pentatonic scales into her playing. Nowottny and Bailey would still play together when they could, but living on the opposite ends of the state gave Nowottny ample time to write and record her own compositions. Later that year, the 16-year-old would have a fortuitous chance meeting with playwright Lori Bortz and her husband Mark Dagley on the streets of Newton, NJ. Immediately forming a friendship with the couple, Nowottny shared some of her poetry and eventually played the Shell tapes for them. Intrigued and impressed, they agreed to make a cassette-only edition (limited to 150 copies) of a project called Shell vs. Neu! the first release on their fledgling Abaton Book Company imprint. Dagley created the tape, which has since been called a "post-modern battle of the bands," by mixing elements of Shell songs into a Neu! album. Immediately after the Shell cassette, Abaton released Nowottny's debut solo recording Afraid of Me in a similarly limited CDR edition. When the seven-song recording, along with Nowottny's sporadic and mystifying concerts, began generating excitement in the Manhattan art and underground scenes, the label/publishing house released an expanded, proper version of the album. They also published a book of her poetry and released numerous videotapes of her gigs, as well as peddling a bevy of unconventional Nowottny-related material from their website. The prodigious young performer graduated from Sparta High School in 2001 at the age of 18, and proceeded to release the wildly ambitious but accomplished double album Manmade Girl -- Songs and Instrumentals to a smattering of underground praise. After performing in support of the record in New York and New Jersey throughout that summer, she traveled to the West Coast for the first time to give a Halloween concert in Cupertino, CA. ~ Bryan Carroll, All Music Guide

Music Style Pop/Rock with slight hints toward Goth, incorporates primitive electronics and dark vocals

Musical Influences Tori Amos, Christian Death, 80's synth-pop, Bollywood sound tracks and other odd international musical reference points.

Similar Artists Nico, Julie London, Patti Waters

Artist History Marianne Nowottny's public debut took place on April 11th, 1999 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ. She was sixteen years old at the time. Her set lasted approximately 38 minutes. Also on the bill were the Spinanes and Quixotic. She shortly after performed with Genesis P-Orridge at Tonic (NYC), and with Daevid Allen at the Knitting Factory (NYC). 1997-2001 Time Line: Lauri Bortz discovers Marianne Nowottny shopping on Spring Street in Newton, NJ 6/97 Abaton Book Company releases "Nowottny" a collection of Marianne's poetry and drawings 6/98 Abaton Book Company releases "SHELL vs.NEU!" audio tape 10/98 SHELL debut performance at TEAM Gallery 1/15/99 Abaton Book Company releases "afraid of me" as a 7 song CD-R demo 1/15/99 Marianne performs live on WFMU's "Unpopular Music" with Kenny G 2/99 Marianne appears on cover of NYPress Art and Music insert 3/99 Marianne receives her first music chart listing in Alternative Press Magazine 6/99. JIM O'ROURKE placed her 8th on his list of favorites. Brett Essler gives Marianne 3 stars in (rockstar.), a new magazine from Buffalo. Marianne records her first music video "The Deep End" directed by Steve Doughton 5/99 Release party for final 16 song version of "afraid of me" at UP&CO NYC 7/99 Fm 106.3, The Underground, hosted by Jeff Raspe gave Marianne:Indie Pick of the Week for "Who's to Blame" 7/99 On August 15, 1999 Barry Schwabsky profiled Marianne in the New Jersey section of The New York Times. Incredible as that was, on August 30th The New York Times Arts Section ran a review of Marianne's August 25th performance at the Knitting Factory, written by Jon Pareles. Martin Bush of "Voice of America" records a 20 minute interview with Marianne to be broadcast in 51 languages 9/7/99 Performs with Genesis P-Orridge at the Knitting Factory 10/22/99 and receives a harmonium as a 17th birthday gift from her adoring fans Abaton Book company releases 7" 45 rpm "Jesus-in-a-Jiffy/Sequin Serenade" 12/99 First national press exposure; profile by Mike Wolf in Magnet Magazine Jan/Feb 2000 issue Abaton Book Company releases SHELL is SWELL debut CD Marianne performs 3/17/01 at TONIC with guest Eric Mingus June 2001, Abaton Book Company releases MANMADE GIRL/ CD release party at UP&CO August 10 performance at WNYC FM archived

Instruments Vocal, electronic keyboard, zheng, harmonium

Albums Afraid of Me (1999) - Shell is Swell (2000) - Manmade Girl (2001)

Press Reviews SELECTED REVIEWS: 1. "Spotlight" Gail Wilson "Atlantic City Press" 1998 2. "New York Press" 3/3/99 cover of Arts & Listings section, feature article by Kenneth Goldsmith, "Don't Be Afraid: Marianne Nowottny Discovers Herself" 3. "(rockstar.)" issue #1, CD review by Brett Essler, 6/99 4. Show Business Insider "Afraid of Nowottny" by Peter Laudau 9/22-28/99 5. "Time Out New York" preview by Mike Wolf 7/29/99 6. The New York Times New Jersey Section-On The Town 8/15/99 "A Teen-Age-Idol-in-the Making with a Grown-Up Following" by Barry Schwabsky 7. The New York Times 8/30/99 The Arts Section "An Ethereal Voice From an Inner Neverland" by Jon Pareles 8. THE WIRE "In Brief-avant rock" by David Keenan 11/99 9. GOLDMINE "Platter Chatter" by Tim Neeley 12/17/99, 1/14/2000 10.MAGNET "Dream Acadamy" page 14. Magnified profile by Mike Wolf Jan/Feb 2000 11. READ review of "Holiday 45" by Adam Liebling READ Magazine, vol.4, no.16 pg.52 12. NEW JERSEY HEARLD, Friday Insert "Eclectic Style Works Well" by Sherry Karasik pg. 8-9 6/9/00 13. "MAROON" Scardale High School student newspaper Volume LXVI, No.8 5/24/00 "Editor's Pick" Shell is Swell CD review by Allison Tanenhaus 14. READ MAGAZINE Volume 4 No.17 Editors Pick CD Review of "Afraid of Me" by Adam Liebling" Pg. 66 15. "NJ Star Ledger" Profile by Lisa Rose 6/25/00 16. "New York Press" vol.13 no.27 Four Twisted Sisters Interview with SHELL and Twisted Tutu by Kenneth Goldsmith, 7/17/00 17. THE WIRE, Issue 198, August 2000 Soundcheck, review of Shell is Swell by David Keenan 18. 8/00 THE WIRE "Bite profile on Marianne Nowottny by David Keenan 19. "MAGNET" no.47 Nov/Dec 2000 Review of Shell is Swell by Joe S. Harrington 20."GREENWICH TIME" Review of Shell is Swell by Kurt Gottschalk 21. NEW YORK PRESS 7/15/01 Review of Manmade Girl by Joe S. Harrington 22. TIGER BEAT 8/01 "Do-it-Yourself Designing" by Allison Tannenhaus, photo and mention of Marianne and Manmade Girl cd release 23. THE WIRE Review of Manmade Girl by David Keenan, Issue #202 pg. 71 SELECTED CLIPS: 1. "Village Voice" 4/13/99 Music Choice, Wolk 2. "New York Times" Pop and Jazz Guide 6/25/99, Parales 3. "TimeOut NY" Music Pick for SHELL at The Cooler 6/1-8/00 4."Village Voice" 8/7/01 Music Choice, Wolk 5."Village Voice" 8/21/01 Music Choice, Carmon

Additional Info Visit: www.wnyc.org spinning on air August 11, 2001 to stream a free interview and instudio performance by Marianne Nowottny.

Location NYC, NY - USA

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