Kelli Scarr is Digging In

“My first album really was born out of necessity – the desire and need to write and record music at that time in my life, coupled with the reality of raising a kid. I couldn’t be rehearsing with bands as much anymore,” singer/songwriter Kelli Scarr (former Moby and J. Viewz collaborator and member of Moonraker and Salt & Samovar… and Emmy-winning composer) tells me of her debut album, Piece (released in August of 2010), during a recent chat.  “Piecefit in with my life perfectly at that time in that I could write and record in my room at night while my son was sleeping.  Then as he got older, I was able to start playing Piece out more, live with my band.  It made me realize how much I missed playing live, which became the seed for the next record – Dangling Teeth.”

“I really wanted myself and the guys to be free from as much distraction as possible during the making of this record. Being upstate in the snow and, sometimes even without power, helped us achieve this state.  It was a grueling, but fun, process. We recorded over 300 takes in 10 days.  The process required extreme discipline and a lot of energy.  I don’t think we could have achieved the same level of playing if we had stayed in the city.”

While Piece embodies a delicate and minimalist whimsy, reminiscent of the 90s’ best blues-tinged alt. pop, the sound of Dangling Teeth harkens back to times far more distant and places extremely desolate.  The album’s heart is about a football-field further into the forefront, with Kelli entirely unafraid to explore the core of all that inspires her… positively or negatively.  The sound is classic Americana, trading a country aesthetic for a folk aesthetic nearly track-by-track.  It’s far more inspiring and, at times down-right “fun,” than her debut.  But even in its darker moments, Kelli seems to be addressing her demons in a more active, and motivational, manner than on her previous release. 

In addition to the aforementioned folk music, Dangling Teeth had some non-musical influences as well.  In fact, her press release is accompanied by a quote from Georgia O’ Keeffe: “It was loud and raw under the stars in that wide open country.”  “I am really into Georgia O’Keefe – her paintings of course, but also all the writing that she did throughout the course of her career. I recently poured through a book of love letters between her and Alfred Stieglitz,” Kelli tells me, before also adding, “Other non-musicians who really inspired Dangling Teeth include Wim Wenders, Joan Didion, and Pina Bausch.”