Wow, that's a pretty awesome honor considering all the kick-ass and inspiring artists in the Twin Cities.  :)

"The songs on Aby Wolf's debut album, Sweet Prudence, only
hint at the magnitude of this virtuoso's singing talent. Looping her
voice on top of itself, Wolf accompanies her mid-range melodies with
soaring, nimble, high-register wails and pretty, choir-girl arpeggios,
creating sublime choral harmonies. In concert, Wolf pushes herself even
further by creating live, looped a cappella songs that build higher and
higher until she seems to be singing down from the heavens. That she
could just as easily be awarded the "Best Songwriter" category doesn't
hurt, either. Wolf has emerged in the past year as a groundbreaking
artist who mixes folk with strains of hip hop, pop, and R&B to
create an intoxicating cocktail of sounds, and she tops it off with
poetic and insightful lyrics that would make Ani DiFranco proud. But
it's her breathtaking talent as a vocalist that deserves to be
spotlighted most, and it's why we think she has a long career ahead of
her regardless of what genre she decides to dip her toes into next. "

I am so smiling. 

Ah, the Cedar.  My release show was absolutely wonderful--the best time I've ever had performing.  Here are some lovely reviews of the show:

http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2009/01/photo_essay_aby.php

http://www.howwastheshow.com/index.cfm/action/reviews.view/reviewKey/1102

http://www.culturebully.com/aby-wolf-black-blondie-and-lucy-michelle-and-the-velvet-lapelles-the-cedar-cultural-center

:)

"Sweet Prudence" is officially released!  I played the Cedar Cultural Center on Saturday, January 24th--and I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful show.  Black Blondie and Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles were lovely.  The Cedar is SUCH a great venue, and I hope to play there again and again!   :)

Here's a very nice article by Chris Riemenschneider posted in the Star Tribune and Vita.mn prior to the show:

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/38149879.html?elr=KArksUUUU

Couldn't be happier.

-aw

Hello, all!  I'm featured in this week's City Pages......

http://www.citypages.com/2009-01-21/music/minneapolis-aby-wolf-delivers-album-of-mesmerizing-folk/

Glorius.

Come to my show.

-aw

I am featured in January's issue of Mpls/St.Paul Magazine!  Check page 281.

Or check here:

http://www.mspmag.com/entertainment/music/136650.asp

:)Cheeky smile!

It's after midnight.  I want to take a sip of water, but I am strongly advised not to do so.  I'm going to wake up at 6:15, call and wake up my Mom, and get ready to be picked up to head over to the University of Minnesota's Dental School where I'll check in at 7:45.  A.M.  Sign some papers, apparently watch an instructional video about how to avoid "dry sockets," which sound like some mechanical machine-shed talk, and then actually put one foot in front of the other and walk to the strapper-chair.  Then they give me laughing gas first, right?  This is funny to me--they gas me up for a few minutes so I'll suddenly think it's really funny that they're going to anesthetize me and jack my jaw open....   Will says they have you count backwards from 10, but nobody ever makes it past 8.  Then you wake up in the next room with a mouth full of cotton gauze and the drunkest confusion ever...the taste of blood?  Fuck.  I AM looking forward to the pudding, the movies on constant rotation, the four days of not waiting tables (or doing ANYTHING for that matter).  I AM looking forward to real drugs that I've never tried.  I AM looking forward to releasing these bits of hard structure that have crowded my mouth for my entire adult life, these bits that have started to impede my speech, these chunks that are coming out the same time as my first album....  When it rains, it pours.  Plus the raddest, my yoga teacher brought me homemade pudding.

Wish me luck!

A.

Yes.

On October 3rd, I had the privilege of singing with Dessa of Doomtree at the State Theatre opening for one of my all-time heroes, Ani DiFranco.

Some words to describe the experience:

exhilarating
exciting
inspiring
very, very, very beautiful and somehow.......ordinary.
I want that job!!!!!!!

A review:

http://blogs.citypages.com/ctg/2008/10/ani_difranco_an.php

Howwastheshow.com....September 10

Aby Wolf, another artist who should also be playing much larger venues in the near future, headlined the show [September 10th at Acadia Cafe, with Lowry of New York]. Since I already gushed over her last show recently I won't go into too many details here, except to say that if you haven't heard her yet you really don't know what you are missing. Hearing Wolf sing in the quiet confines of the Acadia really gave me a chance to experience the full range of her voice, and her ability to tackle complex vocal arrangements with apparent ease reminded me a great deal of the first time I saw Leslie Feist sing solo (The experience is akin to watching someone run a marathon without breaking a sweat). Also, before the show Wolf's mother told me that as a baby, Aby was singing melodies before she even knew any words. As a baby I mostly screamed and pooped myself, which probably explains a lot about why I now write about music while Wolf actually performs it.

--Jon Behm,




Howwastheshow.com....August 15th

For those of you already familiar with the local music scene, I hardly need to extol the virtues of local powerhouses Roma Di Luna and Black Blondie. The two headlining bands on Friday night both played flawless sets – Roma Di Luna their signature haunting folk melodies and Black Blondie, powerful jazz vocals over trippy beats.

The real surprise for me though was newcomer to the scene, Aby Wolf. The charming vocalist breezed through songs from her upcoming album "Sweet Prudence," with the confidence and control of a much more established artist. The singer/songwriter counts Björk as one of her influences, which shows up in the intricate vocal arrangements she shared with a backup singer. Where Björk is a little more experimental, Wolf's music is definitely rooted in the folk tradition - reminding me a bit of the fantastic Mirah in that she expands folk beyond its established boundaries. Making her powerful voice the focal point of each song, Wolf dexterously combines elements of Jazz, R&B, and Trip Hop into her rhythm and flow. The result is one of the most refreshing sounds I have heard locally in some time. You need to have a terrific voice to make it the primary instrument in your musical arsenal and Wolf doesn't seem to have any weaknesses in that respect.

On Friday night she was supported by backup singer Sam Rusher as well as upright bass player Josh Granowski, who I feel like I have seen in a hundred different bands recently (he plays well in them all). The three person set was a little sparser than the multi-instrumented tracks on Prudence, but it was still full of lovely sweeping tunes that hushed the club to a whisper. Though I am not yet as familiar with the full scale of Wolf's work as I would like to be, based on what I heard in the set Friday, and what I have heard from Prudence, I am confident that she is destined to be a hit in the Twin Cities' music scene. If you are interested in finding out for yourself, check out the Acadia Café on Sep. 10th, which is listed as her next show. If you aren't impressed the drinks are on me.

--Jon Behm

Another bit of delving and discussion, with my good buddy Omaur Bliss. An hour-long program recorded in July of 2008 at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, MN. Catch lots of banter and some live, original acoustic songs here:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=387201266

kind words from JonJon/Black Corners:

Minneapolis' Aby Wolf is a young singer/songwriter with a joyful post-emo approach to songwriting. I first heard a demo of "Movin' In" and was blown away. She followed that way another lo-fi banger, the stunning ballad,"Focus". Her minimal arrangements allow room for her distinctive vocals to shine and does she. Somewhere between Pasty Cline by way of Cat Power, PJ Harvey and her unique storytelling narratives make her one to watch. "

-Jon Jon, Black Corners