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Artist description
Lush vocals, and intensely visual lyrics with surging
hip-hop/electronica beats, and layered soundscape
loops provide a compelling sound track for her
provocative poetic work, â??Dog and the Manger.â??
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Music Style
New Lounge |
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Musical Influences
Portishead, Massive Attack, Leornard Cohen |
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Similar Artists
Combo of Portishead, Vanessa Daou and Leonard Cohen |
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Artist History
While enjoying a successful career as an actor in
Canada, Jhene began writing poetry when living in
the "red light," district of Toronto. The poetry evolved
into the collection, "Dog in the Manger." Part reality,
part fiction, part autobiography Erwin creates an intense
world inhabited by undeniable characters whose
primary struggle is to find their own sense of humanity
and dignity.
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Group Members
Jhene Erwin |
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Instruments
Electronic |
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Albums
Dog In The Manger |
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Press Reviews
JHENE ERWIN’S DOG IN THEMANGER
Review by: Lisa Zugschwerdt
In a society that increasingly thrives on cultural
alienation and voyeurism, the idea of
developing a sense of empathy by exploring
the common roots of human tragedy, loss,
and addiction is not only an innovation, it’s a
radical anomaly -- and it’s going on right here
in Hollywood, CA.
Chances are, you haven’t experienced the
musings of a different kind of “triple threat”
-- L.A. based poet/singer/composer Jhene
Erwin. I’ve been fortunate enough to witness
the evolution of her show, “Dog in the
Manger,” from a thought-provoking, if
somewhat inhibited, one-woman show, to a
more subtle, stripped down, and devastatingly
evocative effort.
As much as I enjoy Erwin’s solo
performances, the show borders on
multi-layered thematic virtuosity when
accompanied by percussionist Colin Gray.
The interplay between the tragic lyrical
content, sequenced background
(painstakingly arranged, produced, and
engineered by Erwin, herself), and the
skin-on-skin intimacy of Gray’s bongo
accompaniment is so beautifully complex as
to elude proper description -- how does one
describe a show whose songs, medium, and
theme blur the distinction between lyrics and
poetry, the electronic and the organic,
voyeurism and experience?
Once you’ve seen Dog in the Manger, it’s not
surprising to learn that Erwin has a
background in acting – she pretty much
channels the souls of the flawed
street-walkers who roam the terrain of each
song like it was a stretch of Santa Monica
Blvd. One is struck by Erwin’s haunting
intensity as her demeanor shifts seamlessly
from the self-deprecating pill-popper in “He
Doesn’t Know How Old I Feel” to the sardonic
seductress in “I Loved You;” from the sultry,
detached heroine junky who unapologetically
narrates her own story in 3rd person on “Blue”
to the angry, shrieking, ramblings of a woman
over the edge in “Not the First Time. At the
close of each song Erwin stands solitary at
center stage, her cropped hair tousled and
illuminated in a red haze, staring into the
audience with a defiant complexity that would
give Sybil chills.
With her beauty and striking presence, one
can’t help but wonder what a woman like
Erwin, who exudes such personal radiance,
could possibly know of such tragedy. I
suppose the artist herself answers this
question in the autobiographical final verses
of “Family Tree:”
Now every time I see someone
and I find myself thanking god it’s not me --
I…look in their eyes and I remember the rings
of our family tree.
In the end, we’re left with the realization that
these characters are desperate to feel
something, and to be healed -- and with the
lingering suspicion that perhaps as a culture,
we may have more in common with these
women than we’d like to admit.
For more information on Jhene Erwin as well
as upcoming show and booking information,
please visit her website at
www.jheneerwin.net.
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Location
Los Angeles, CA - USA |
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