Amy Abdou

Description

A powerful combination of poetry, melody and rhythm, blending the dynamics of rock with the emotional honesty of folk, Amy Abdou’s music runs with passion and depth.

Bio

Amy Abdou is an innovative American singer/songwriter, creating etherealfolk noirand melodic pop. In addition to extensive live performance, she has composed soundtracks for two films and recorded three critically acclaimed releases that received national and international recognition, airplay and distribution. She has been an active voice in the promotion of underground arts and independent music. She co-produced the first compilation of female artists from the HudsonValley, and founded Grrr Records, an independent label dedicated to raising the profile of women artists. For their first two years, she was the host of Time Warner’s "Sounding Board", the television show spotlighting musical talent in New York’s Capital District. Amy is also a regular contributor to The Hidden City ( a web magazine that serves as a gallery to a myriad of talented artists. She currently resides in the Netherlandswhere she records and performs regularly.

History

Amy Abdou cut her teeth leading the innovative and eclectic Hand Held Moon. The band’s EP "Lunaception" received great praise from critics, but Hand Held Moon’s short history prevented it from reaching its full, wonderful potential. Amy turned her attention to a solo career, assembling members of the band IkyMo and recording "Beneath the Grass", the first full-length CD by Amy Abdou. This band, featuring legendary guitarist George Muscatello, won her critical acclaim and recognition as a strong songwriter and vocalist. In 1994, she reshaped the Amy Abdou Band into a three-piece rock outfit, releasing "3 Songs" and drawing comparisons to Patti Smith, Jeff Buckley, and Kate Bush. In 1999, Amy and bassist Alan Okey recorded "The Girl Who Has Everything" in Amy's studio and expanded the sound of the band to include the textural guitar shadings of Matthew Tiernan and the percussive drumming of Danny Whelchel. Her third full length album, Strange Bird, was released in September 2003.

She has continued to perform on her own and with her band across the United States, Canada and Europe. She is currently working with guitarist Daniel Versteegh and has plans to release a new album in 2006.

Booking

Visit Amy Abdou at

or email Amy at

Contact Grrr Records +31 (0)6-5374-9840

Discography

Hand Held Moon, "Lunaception", 1991 EP CS/ HHM001 (out of print)

Amy Abdou, "Beneath the Grass", 1992 CD & CS/ HHM002

Compilation, "A Bunch of Songs", 1993 CD / BGCD 2123

Compilation, "A Little Nip", 1994 CD/ HHM003

Amy Abdou Band, "3 Songs", 1996 CS/ HHM004 (out of print)

Amy Abdou Band, "The Girl Who Has Everything," 1999 CD/HHM668

Amy Abdou, “Strange Bird,” 2003 CD/HHM692

The Buzz on "The Girl Who Has Everything"

There’s a great deal to admire & wonder at on this release from US based artist Amy Abdou. Although there have been comparisons to Kate Bush & others, I'd say there's also a Tori Amos or even Ani DiFranco reference, with the same sort of brooding atmosphere & elegant instrumentation, though Amy stamps her own mark on the songs with her exceptionally wide vocal range. The opening track "The Olive Tree" is certainly up there with the best music around, with some very innovative sounds, though my pick track here is the beautiful "Muddy Water". This is an album that works on so many levels it might take a week of consistent listening to discover it all, though I'd have to say that even if you don't discover all that's here, you'll be much better off if you grasp just a little bit.

- hEARd International,

Call your album "The Girl Who Has Everything" and folks tend to expect a lot. Fortunately, on her new album of that name, Amy Abdou delivers. What's "everything" according to Abdou? Start with her voice, a tremendously flexible alto capable of ethereal soft-spoken Kate Bush-like flights, declamatory Tori Amos wails and everything between. Then there's the band, a muscular but sensitive instrument whose signature sound is Alan Okey's virtuoso Jaco Pastorius-like bass. And maybe most of all, she has the songs - smart in their structures and wordplay, grown-up in their depth, and expertly matched to voice and arrangements.

- Michael Hochanadel, The Daily Gazette

Both edgy and airy, Amy Abdou's new release is that rare thing - broad enough to be universal, and personal enough to cut deep. "The Girl Who Has Everything", blends prog-rock, world, folk and classical music, yet manages to be progressive without being ponderous. It's both good and good for you.

– Mitch Rothchild, Boston Rock

The mesmerizing vocals of Amy Abdou are ethereal yet with an edge, and the songs are downright habit forming. The lyrical acuity of "Stick Around," with its shimmering pop surface, gives way to so many deeper levels below. The cosmic glue and bottom running through this CD is the tastefully flawless bass playing of Alan Okey. Clearly, Amy Abdou is "The Girl Who Has Everything."

-Matt MacHaffie, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

The Girl Who Has Everything includes a set of wonderfully written and well played songs that give center stage to Abdou's songs and vocals. The album is really about songs and Abdou's wonderful voice….

-Aural Innovations

Amy Abdou

Photoby Stephanie White