Caroline Cotter
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Caroline Cotter

Portland, Maine, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2007 | SELF

Portland, Maine, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2007
Solo Folk Singer/Songwriter

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"Caroline Cotter Brings Her Evocative, Eclectic Northern New England Americana to Brooklyn"

Caroline Cotter Brings Her Evocative, Eclectic Northern New England Americana to Brooklyn

Caroline Cotter likes waltzes. She’s very good at them. Although she has a jazz background – one of her projects is the jaunty CC & the Swing Set – the Maine-based songwriter is also adept at channeling a whole bunch of other vintage Americana styles, from bluegrass to country blues to spirituals. And she sings in both English and French. Her latest album, Dreaming As I Do – streaming at her webpage – made a big splash in the folk music world earlier this year. She’s coming to town this May 8 at 8 PM at Pete’s Candy Store.

The album opens with Bella Blue, an elegant waltz, just acoustic guitar, mandolin and Cotter’s airy, expressive voice, its pastoral imagery imbued with an understatedly elegaic quality. Like several of the other tracks here, it could be a front-porch folk number from the mid-1800s. The title track, a wistful, sad only-in-dreams narrative, mashes up that vibe with a more upbeat levee camp blues spiritedness

The second number, A Midnight Escape paints a harrowing portrait of an old woman losing her memory and her grip on everything else along with it – it’s one of the most chilling songs of the year, bar none. By contrast, Cotter includes a couple of resolute oldtime gospel-flavored numbers here, Journey in C and I Am Satisfied, just vocals and fingersnaps. Amd on Champagne, she goes for a less over-the-top Peggy Lee Fever approach, with an artful arrangement of shuffling drumkit, wee-hours muted trumpet and Jed Bresette’s sparse bass. As she tells it, she wants some bubbles on her brain…because “these are the things that keep me sane!”

There are two tracks in French here. La Marinonette, a morosely swinging musette number, has some droll food references, but the mantra on the way out is ”I’m dying of hunger,” Cotter’s voice rising to an anguished peak. The other is the surreal, playful but disquieted El Est Jaune.

The rest of the album includes Pollyanna, an aphoristic, swaying minor-key tune about the kind of girl who slips away in the night; My Evergreen, a vintage hillbilly folk love ballad; and This Place, with its evocative Down East imagery. In a world full of retro-obsessed acoustic types who come across as authentic as a Chinatown Rolex, Cotter is a breath of fresh air straight off the rugged Atlantic coast. - New York Music Daily


"Stewart's CD Reviews"

CAROLINE COTTER is a well travelled young lady. She’s worked and lived in places like Thailand, Peru, Spain & Portugal, but home is Maine in America’s north east. She has already got recognition by winning the 2012 Maine Songwriters Association Songwriting Contest. The singer songwriter gets her first major release with “Dreaming As I Do”, an eleven track collection of interesting and varied songs, ranging from the catchy “ Bella Blue” to the simply acoustic closure , “This Place”. In between, there are classical touches in “Journey In C “, and even a couple of effective French language songs. Stand out track for me is “A Midnight Escape”. - Stewart Fenwick from Scotland’s BBC


"Caroline Cotter - Dreaming as I Do"

Voor haar 16e verjaardag kreeg de jongedame Caroline Cotter een akoestische gitaar cadeau en dat was de start voor een intensieve zelfstudie om het instrument te leren bespelen. Toen ze dat helemaal onder de knie had, begon ze die gitaar ook te gebruiken voor het componeren van haar eigen liedjes.
Sinds 2007 heeft deze singer-songwriter al vijf studioalbums op haar conto staan met “Back On The Train” als eerste en “Ruth And Harry & Other Stories” uit 2010 als voorlopig laatste.
Maar nu is Caroline Cotter helemaal terug in de schijnwerpers getreden met de release van haar nieuwe album “Dreaming As I Do”, een elf liedjes tellende plaat waarop ze haar zelfgeschreven akoestische folknummers heeft samengebracht.
“Bella Blue” (zie live versie op video) is de openingstrack van deze cd en een liedje waarin gitaar, mandoline en cello voor de bijhorende instrumentatie zorgen. Die instrumenten blijven aanwezig in de tweede song “A Midnight Escape”, een minzaam gezongen walsje over een oudere dame met Alzheimer. Het daaropvolgende “Journey In C” is een kort a capella gebracht nummer, net als het later opduikende “I Am Satisfied”.
De albumtiteltrack “Dreaming As I Do” is onze favoriete song uit deze plaat. Het is een melodieuze ballad met een prachtig instrumentaal intermezzo op cello door April Reed-Cox en heerlijk mooi gezongen door Caroline Cotter. “Champagne” is een uptempo jazznummer, gevolgd door “La Marionette” dat ze volledig in de taal van Molière zingt, iets wat ze wat later opnieuw doet in het nummer “It Est Jaune”.
De nog resterende tracks “My Evergreen” met banjo en “This Place” met akoestische gitaar zijn twee liedjes waarin ze haar gevoelens van liefde bezingt voor haar nieuwe thuishaven in Portland, Maine. Caroline Cotter is naast zangeres ook nog professioneel actief als yogalerares. Wat ons betreft kan ze tijdens die lessen haar eigen plaat “Dreaming As I Do” moeiteloos laten spelen, want de kans dat je bij de beluistering van de liedjes van deze sympathieke dame alsmaar rustiger wordt is vrij groot.
(valsam)

For her 16th birthday Caroline Cotter was gifted an acoustic guitar, and that was the start of an intensive tutorial to learn to play the instrument. When she had completely mastered, she began to use the guitar to compose her own songs.
Since 2007, this singer-songwriter already has five studio albums to her credit standing with "Back On The Train" and the first "Harry & Ruth And Other Stories" in 2010 as preliminary final.
But Caroline Cotter is back in the spotlight came with the release of her new album 'Dreaming As I Do ", an eleven songs counting album on which she has brought together her self-penned acoustic folk songs.
"Bella Blue" (see live video version) is the opening track of the album and a song where the guitar, mandolin and cello provide the associated instrumentation. These instruments remain in the second song "A Midnight Escape", a suave waltz sung about an elderly lady with Alzheimer's. The subsequent "Journey In C" is a short a cappella song brought, like the later emerging "I Am Satisfied".
The album title track "Dreaming As I Do" is our favorite song from this album. It's a melodic ballad with a beautiful instrumental interlude on cello by April Reed-Cox and delicious beautifully sung by Caroline Cotter. "Champagne" is an uptempo jazz number, followed by "La Marionette" she sings entirely in the language of Molière, something she later recur in the song "It Est Jaune".
The remaining tracks "My Evergreen" with banjo and "This Place" with acoustic guitar are two songs in which she sings about her feelings of love for her new home port in Portland, Maine. Caroline Cotter's next singer still professionally active as a yoga teacher. As far as we are concerned, they during those lessons her own album 'Dreaming As I Do "effortlessly play, because the chances of you is getting calmer when listening to the songs of this likable lady is quite large.
(valsam) - Roots Time Belgium


Discography

Dreaming as I Do (2015 - National Debut) 

Il est jaune (Kickstarter campaign funded, released to backers 2014)

Ruth and Harry (self-released 2010)

Songs from India (self-released 2009)

My American Mind (self-released 2009)

Pollyanna (self-released 2008)

Back on the Train (self-released 2007)



Photos

Bio

"I've got roots that go deep and grow deeper the more I leave my home," Caroline Cotter sings in the title cut of the sparkling Home on the River, the
second full-length major release from the sweetly expressive Americana
artist who has found a true home on the road and on diverse musical
stages throughout the world. Co-produced by Cotter and Jeff Oehler of
Beehive Productions and recorded in scenic Saranac Lake, New York, as
well as in Kansas City, MO, "Home on the River" emphasizes both the
freedom of wanderlust and a sense of place. The album features 9
original songs plus Cotter's hauntingly lovely a capella version of
Woody Guthrie's "My Peace".

Opening
"Home on the River" is "Peace of Mind," a declaration of Cotter's
aspirations, both personally and professionally. “I’ve talked with many
people who see the goal of a music career to be wealth and fame," she
says, “but when I thought about it and really dug deep, I realized that
everything I'm doing is to move forward with peace of mind. I’m taking
the focus off of material wealth and recognizing that none of it matters
if you don't have peace of mind."

From
poignant reflections about her parents ("When I Think of You" and "Hey
Mama") and grandparents ("1 4 3," which is based on the numbers of
letters in the phrase, "I love you") to the title cut,  "Home on the
River" stands on a solid ground with a view both inward at the self and
outward to the world. Brought to life by vivid, thoughtful lyrics and
Cotter's honeyed soprano, the tunes are lightly tinged with raw emotion
and brimming with honest, soul-searching expression.
 "My music is my
honest expression of myself, reaching out to a world who I hope to
connect with. There are a few songs that are one take, live with the
band. No separations in the studio, just live in one room with bass,
drums, electric guitar and me."

"Home
on the River" is the follow-up to Cotter's acclaimed 2015 debut,
"Dreaming as I Do", which reached No. 5 on the Folk DJ chart. Since that
time, Cotter has played over 200 shows per year in such prestigious
venues as Boston's Club Passim and the Alberta Rose Theater in Portland,
Oregon, Florida's 30A Songwriters Festival and New York's legendary
Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival. Along the way, she has shared stages with
musicians Loudon Wainwright III, David Wilcox and Dan Bern, and was
selected for the Emerging Artist Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk
Festival in New York.

"American
folk music filled our house, and was sung as lullabies to me," Cotter
says of her earliest musical inspirations, which inform her own body of
work. "I remember as young as 3 sitting in the living room by myself,
working the record player while sitting on the piano stool plunking out
notes from the George Winston, Beach Boys, or Beatles record I was
listening to. My favorite was Magical Mystery Tour."

Over
the past 15 years, Cotter's magical, musical tour has consisted of
living in and traveling to 31 countries on five continents. While
writing and recording her first album, she spent time working for the
Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) in Portland, Maine,
as well as teaching yoga throughout the city and at camps, conferences
and retreats. Prior to living in Maine, she spent time working in
France, Portugal, Spain and Thailand, studying yoga in India, and
traveling in South America. In addition to writing songs in English, she
sings in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and Sanskrit.

Caroline
Cotter grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and attended college in
Maine before setting off on what has become a global quest for adventure
and education set to music and she’s not slowing down anytime soon.
Cotter will tour the United States throughout 2018 in support of the
release of "Home on the River". She will also return to Europe where her
fresh, organic sound has enchanted audiences in the Netherlands,
France, Spain, Belgium, and Germany.

"The
real thread [of 'Home On The River'] is the peace with being on a
journey and carrying my home with me, rather than finding comfort from
home in the traditional sense."


Band Members