micropixie

Listening to the loungey, minimalist, heartbreaking journey taken by micropixie (the alter-ego of San Francisco-based writer/filmmaker single beige female on her debut album, Alice in Stevie Wonderland, is kind of like listening to the outpourings of a hipper, cleverer E.T. with access to slick beats. Like other great concept albums, i.e., The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, this album’s tracks stand on its own but come together to tell a powerful story. It is the mythical tale of an alien who comes to Earth to try on the human experience, confronts doubt and disappointment, and who eventually learns - with the help of tabla bols - to speak the language of love.

Co-written & cleanly co-produced by neo eon one and micropixie herself, the music behind the alien's finely-accented vocals ranges from minimal beats to live orchestrations and samples featuring everything from tabla (Robin Sukhadia) to harmonica (Damien Masterson to puja bells (micropixie's terrestrial mom: Kundan Shah). This album defies genre, but has serious nods to Stevie Wonderesque funk, Nitin Sawhney’s eclectic world beat and Air’s electronic dreamscape. While it does pick-up at certain points, this is definitely an album for chilling out after a loud night at the club or any kind of late-night session.

micropixie’s vocal stylings go from quiet narration to offbeat spoken word to sweet singing, aided by "the innit choir." The quirky sense of humor and otherworldly vibe of the album makes you think of a Desi Björk. "earth: a kit" and "cognitive dissonance" are both entertaining spoken pieces, the latter of which features some great one-liners. While some lyrics might get a little too new agey, feel-good for my cynical tastes, like the "Jesus, Allah, Krishna, Buddha" breakdown on the title track, my favorite lyrical moments are the tongue-in-cheek uplift of "mothership" and "evolving whilst revolving." And the phrase "sonic chickpea" never fails to make me smile.

The best tracks on the album are the slow, sexy tabla-infused plea "pour me an honourable man" and the infectious-groove title track "alice in stevie wonderland." micropixie pulls off a great blues piece in "single beige female looks back in dismay" - which expresses such a profound sense of loneliness that I know it will go on my rainy day playlist right after Billie Holiday and certain Magnetic Fields songs.

The likes of micropixie and her eclectic space journey have certainly never been seen here on Earth before, especially in the Asian electronica scene. This album is a refreshing and intelligent change of pace from the usual. micropixie’s strengths are her playfulness and the sweet complexity of her music. Let’s hope she stays awhile on our fine planet. - ethnotechno.com

The title's a silly pun, but the concept is intriguing. The woman who calls herself Micropixie has made a concept album about life on earth as viewed by an alien. We get a strange ride through her mind.

Musically it recalls Björk and maybe an unknown genius like Unwoman. Thus we get the scratchy "Cognitive Dissonance" which recalls dub-heroine Little Annie. A jazzy trumpet meanders while Micropixie speaks in her charming British accent of life choices. The narrator scolds the free spirited alien and asks her to grow up. The concept of an alien on Earth is saying that we're all alien on this planet and that nothing is normal. Which is only my interpretation of course, but normality is overrated anyway.

"Single Beige Female looks back in Dismay" is a dreamy but sharp song. She recalls a less than satisfactory affair. The title track is a philosophical thing. It's also quite groovy.

"Whether you be micro or macro
Whether you be system or cell
Whether you're an atom or the universe
It's right here you dwell", she notes elsewhere.

This album is weird but it tells (a) truth. - Luna Kafe Copyright © 2006 Anna Maria Stjärnell

Alice in Stevie Wonderland is a 12-track self-written, self-composed, self-produced self-etc.. melange of mellow spoken word-meets-chillout music. As you might expect from that previous sentence, the album carries a very personal air to it and it leaves you quite sure that you've met her face-to-face before.

Self-described as an 'alien trying on the human experience,' the artist known as Micropixie must have recorded this album completely on a series of Sundays – her voice soothingly flows with a Chamaemelum quality and the lyrics of these songs are pretty much entirely self-reflective. Her vocal pondering is supported by extremely clean production (the album was mastered by a German company) to good effect – cool tones of her voice are warmed by large orchestral swoons and soft keys.
With minimal tabla accompaniment and track titles like 'single beige female looks back in dismay,' this Alice is drawn unique and offers a beautiful sound combining jazz inspiration with a playful musical curiosity that transcends whimsy to find a happily eclectic modern cosmopolitanism.

This album is lovely and unique. - Indian Electronica, Abdul Smooth

Micropixie, soon to be your favorite alien being in flip-flops... her album, Alice in Stevie Wonderland, is a beautifully rendered transmission beamed down from her mothership as a woman from another world; an interplanetary creation myth revolving within lyrical orbits of rebirth, heartbreak, abandonment and transcendence.

Each of her songs is singular, but precisely arranged from a wonderful manipulation of lovely lead vocals, ambient beats, tabla-playing, choir harmonies, and other surprise interludes.

Between the beats there are many tiny discoveries to be found; whispered words behind other words, miniature contradictions, unexpected intersections of sound and meaning... - Bathysphere