▄▄ [ INFORMATION ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
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█ ARTIST: Madi Diaz █
█ TITLE: Plastic Moon █
█ LABEL: Small Horse Records █
█ GENRE: Pop-Folk █
█ BITRATE: 239kbps avg █
█ PLAYTIME: 0h 40min total █
█ RELEASE DATE: 2012-00-00 █
█ RIP DATE: 2012-02-11 █
█ URL: █
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▄▄ [ TRACKLIST ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
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█ 01. Gimme A Kiss 3:28 █
█ 02. Johnny 3:19 █
█ 03. Love You Now 4:26 █
█ 04. To Be Alone 3:50 █
█ 05. Nothing At All 2:59 █
█ 06. Heavy Heart 3:40 █
█ 07. Let's Go 4:32 █
█ 08. If You Only Knew 2:58 █
█ 09. I Know 3:23 █
█ 10. Time 3:50 █
█ 11. Down We Go 4:22 █
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▄▄ [ NOTES ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
█ █
█ Bio/Press Release: █
█ ôWhen I was a teenager,ö Madi Diaz recalls, ômy dad and I would hang out █
█ in the living room and learn songs by bands like the Eagles and Alice in █
█ Chains. WeÆd pick parts to harmonize and sing our way through them, over █
█ and over. My dad would get so excited when he figured out something by █
█ Yes or the Mamas and Papas, then heÆd let me pick my favorite █
█ Silverchair song or whatever I was obsessing over at the moment and weÆd █
█ learn it together, too. It was the best.ö █
█ █
█ DiazÆs advance EP, Far From Things That We Know, and forthcoming █
█ full-length, Plastic Moon (out January 24) reflect a lifelong attraction █
█ to song craft as well her deep-rooted affinity for contrasting types of █
█ music. One part pop music and one part organic Americana, the album is a █
█ hooky, confident collection of songs that is as heartbreaking in places █
█ as it is catchy in others, sometimes within the span of a single song. █
█ █
█ The 25-year-old, Nashville-based musician is herself a bit of a █
█ contrast, growing up in Lancaster, PA, surrounded by Amish farms, where █
█ she was home schooled by her Peruvian mother, Nancy, a proponent of █
█ early childhood development and the visual arts, and her Danish father, █
█ Eric, a woodworker and musician. Madi began piano lessons at age five at █
█ the behest of her father, himself a keyboard player in the Frank Zappa █
█ tribute band, Project Object. The familyÆs home stereo fed her a steady █
█ diet of Metallica, Sheryl Crow, The Beatles and Whitney Houston. █
█ █
█ In her early teens, Diaz switched from piano to guitar and when she █
█ sought advanced instruction, she landed at School of Rock in █
█ Philadelphia. Her family eventually moved to the city and both Eric and █
█ MadiÆs brother, Max, went on to become part of the faculty. █
█ █
█ ôThe school was a big part of my life,ö she acknowledges. ôIt showed me █
█ how to be in a band, and taught me about dynamics and orchestration, █
█ taking apart sections and basically leading and directing other █
█ musicians. IÆm definitely opinionated and I was always the one to come █
█ into a room where everyoneÆs doing what they want and try to get them █
█ organized.ö █
█ █
█ Diaz was a standout among the pupils and became a focal point of █
█ director Don ArgottÆs 2005 documentary about the program, Rock School. █
█ Nearly a decade later, she holds a fondness for the fierce teenage Madi █
█ captured on screen, but doesnÆt plan to see the movie again any time █
█ soon. ôItÆs embarrassing enough to have pictures of you when youÆre 15 █
█ or 16 years old; I have an entire doc.ö █
█ █
█ After high school, Diaz was accepted to Berklee College of Music in █
█ Boston and began spending every waking moment making music: writing, █
█ singing and recording. She credits the period with helping her get █
█ serious about pursuing music as a career. █
█ █
█ ôIt was one of the smarter things IÆve done,ö she says. ôIt made me █
█ focus on finding what I wanted to do. It helped me realize I didnÆt want █
█ to work in production; thatÆs not my brain. Do I want to work in film █
█ scoring? No, not that either. I came to recognize that I liked █
█ songwriting the most.ö █
█ █
█ A fellow studentÆs production assignment provided the first opportunity █
█ to work with Kyle Ryan. The Lincoln, Nebraska-raised guitarist would █
█ turn into her future songwriting collaborator and right-hand man. Diaz █
█ was in awe of his guitar playing, and Ryan had similar admiration for █
█ DiazÆs abilities, yet the two cagily circled each other for a time. Diaz █
█ was convinced Ryan was just being nice when he gave her his number and █
█ asked her to write together, while Ryan was sure Diaz hated his guitar █
█ playing, which was why she wasnÆt calling. █
█ █
█ ôWe were kind of awkward to each other around campus for a while,ö she █
█ says. ôTurns out we were both just completely intimidated.ö █
█ █
█ The ice was broken when that fellow student, a producer looking for a █
█ project, offered Diaz the chance to record an album in Hawaiiùall █
█ expenses paid, no strings attached. It was a no-brainer for Madi and she █
█ worked up the courage to ask her favorite guitar player on campus to █
█ come along as part of the band. The self-released, alt.country-leaning █
█ Skin And Bones was the result, and a songwriting and performing █
█ partnership between Diaz and Ryan was struck for good, as well as a █
█ friendship. █
█ █
█ ôI was going through a lot of weird stuff personally at the time,ö she █
█ reflects. ôMy parents had recently divorced. I was going out with shitty █
█ boyfriends. My brother was still living at home and having a hard time. █
█ But Kyle was really great. HeÆd come over to my apartment and weÆd write █
█ and talk for hours. It was super helpful and IÆm still grateful for it.ö █
█ █
█ Not long after that, Diaz tired of Berklee and subsequently left the █
█ program. She and Ryan kept writing though, and, armed with a strong █
█ batch of new material, the pair began heading down to New York City █
█ regularly for gigs. One otherwise inauspicious night at Greenwich █
█ Village landmark The Bitter End led to a chance meeting with a manager █
█ who had come to see another artist and stayed when she heard DiazÆs █
█ voice. The manager left her card, and soon thereafter she began █
█ representing Madi. Their first order of business turned out to be █
█ sending Diaz and Ryan for a month-long visit to Nashville to do some █
█ co-writing. █
█ █
█ The trip went so swimmingly that Diaz and Ryan relocated to Music City █
█ in mid-2010. ôWhen we moved to Nashville it was like clouds lifted off █
█ our heads,ö she says. The pair was quickly thrust into the center of the █
█ cityÆs nascent indie-pop scene, eventually landing Madi on the Ten Out █
█ Of Tenn tour showcasing the best of NashvilleÆs emerging artists. █
█ █
█ With the release of the EP, Ten Gun Salute, Diaz began receiving some █
█ encouraging exposure, touring with The Civil Wars and Landon Pigg, █
█ garnering favorable press in Paste (who dubbed her one of the ôTop Ten █
█ Buzziest Actsö at SXSW 2009) AOLÆs Spinner and on NPR, as well as and █
█ having her songs licensed for ABC FamilyÆs Pretty Little Liars and █
█ LifetimeÆs Drop Dead Diva and Army Wives. █
█ █
█ Plastic Moon initially began as a self-produced project. Diaz and Ryan █
█ gathered up ô60 or 70ö songs in progress and started paring them down, █
█ looking for a collection that held together as a singular work. At the █
█ same time, producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Liz █
█ Phair) was seeking his next project and connected with the pair, who █
█ then decamped for Dave MatthewsÆ palatial studio near Charlottesville, █
█ Virginia. The result departs from DiazÆs early rootsier side, though the █
█ record is no less heartfelt and arguably even more so with its poignant █
█ melodies and inventive arrangements. █
█ █
█ ôItÆs funny,ö says Diaz, ôwe moved to Nashville and moved out of the █
█ alt-country box.ö █
█ █
█ After years of perfecting her craft, itÆs no surprise that the album █
█ boasts uniformly strong songwriting, ranging from the power-pop bounce █
█ of ôNothing At Allö and the unshakably inviting ôLetÆs Go,ö to the █
█ soaring, introspective majesty of ôHeavy Heart.ö DiazÆs pure, effortless █
█ voice and unerring sense of song craft shine throughout. Thanks to █
█ AlagiaÆs meticulous and sympathetic production, the music keeps DiazÆs █
█ indie spirit intact while bringing forth a more sophisticated █
█ soundscape, with everything from Fender Rhodes to marimba popping up in █
█ the mix. The strength of the record was enough to land a deal with █
█ tinyOGRE for Diaz, meaning that she may not remain NashvilleÆs best-kept █
█ secret for much longer. █
█ █
█ ôHopefully the next few years are going to be terrifyingly busy,ö Diaz █
█ says, her voice excitedly rising. ôI donÆt want to rest on my laurels. I █
█ have had people say to both of us, æYouÆve done so much; arenÆt you ever █
█ going to be happy?Æ I think thatÆs such a silly thing to say. Of course █
█ weÆre never going to stop.ö █
█ █
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