Trixie Whitley - Porta Bohemica (2015)

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Trixie Whitley was born June 24, 1987 in Ghent, Belgium, the daughter of singer and songwriter Chris Whitley, which got her music pedigree going early. She was playing drums by the age of ten; touring Europe with various theater companies at 11; acting, singing, and dancing with Les Ballets C de la B at 14, and spinning as a DJ at raves and festivals before she was out of her teens. She also appeared on several of her father's albums. At 17, she returned to New York City, working as a waitress while she taught herself guitar and piano, and she was soon playing her songs at gigs. Bouncing between New York and Belgium for a time, she recorded a debut EP (co-produced by Me'Shell Ndegéocello and Dougie Bowne), The Engine, which appeared in 2009. That same year she joined Daniel Lanois' Black Dub band, along with Lanois, Brian Blade, and Daryl Johnson, and the group released an album, the self-titled Black Dub, in 2010. Whitley began recording a full-length solo project in 2011, but stepped back from the project for a time to tour with Black Dub. An EP featuring Whitley in concert, Live at Rockwood Music Hall, appeared in 2012. Fourth Corner, released in January of 2013, was Whitley's full-length studio debut. She co-produced it with keyboardist Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman); with engineering by Pat Dillett -- both men served as the core of her band. ~ Steve Leggett