THE ARTIST Silk & Olive began in 2004 as the solo project of Portland, Oregon musician, Andy Fish. Dark & haunting, S & O exudes the rawness of PJ Harvey, the poetic lyricism of Suzanne Vega and the quirky art-folk finesse of Cat Power. THE CD \"Small Dark Light\" explores a sonically somber soundscape of folk and electronic collage. To describe the opening instrumental track, \"Drift\", Fish explains, \"Imagine a lonely drive up the Coast, it\'s late, you\'re headed towards the home of someone who, once important, isn\'t expecting to see you.\" \"Sea Heart\" (a collaboration with Madison, WI musician Michael J. Matheson), juxtaposes the calming words of an Indian Yogi with the whirling thoughts of a jilted lover. The next two tracks, subsequently written while the US was planning to invade Iraq, focus on war. While \"Silence\" explores the tenuous relationship of a daughter with her Vietnam vet father, \"Clementina\" delves into a romantic relationship during war in feudal times. The final track, \"Fool\", addresses the intangible task of trying to connect on an intimate level with another human being. THE HISTORY Fish found her way into music in rural Iowa, at the age of 9 when given a cheap tape recorder and plastic microphone. \"As an only child, one method of entertainment was to burrow away and listen to pop music on AM and FM radio. I would jam in private and record these simplistic cassette mixes, crudely overdubbing my own voice as DJ.\" As a teenager, Fish studied both piano and trombone and was given a butter yellow Ovation electric by a generous stranger just before joining her first rock band, \"Urban Myth\" in Madison, WI in 1993. Quips Fish \"We were a grunge version of Fairport Convention meets Camper Van Beethoven, but with more distortion.\" She relocated to the West Coast and in 1998 released \"Porch Songs: A Willamette Valley Acoustic Compilation\", featuring Eugene and Portland female solo artists. Despite the relative obscurity of most artists on the record, several tracks found themselves in regular rotation on college radio nationwide. After performing in multiple Eugene and Portland projects, Fish went solo with \"Silk & Olive\" in 2004. FILM/VIDEO The nostalgic, almost dream-like character of S & O lends itself well to film and video. S & O\'s music can be found on \"Wonders of Wildlife\", a video sponsored by the Nature Conservancy which highlights the work of conservationist Aldo Leopold. Fish also served as co-music supervisor and music contributor for \"The Truth About Suicide\", a video produced by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, shown nationally to college students. Additionally, S&O\'s \"Sea Heart\" is expected to appear in the Eugene-based upcoming independent film entitled \"Phoned\": http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2008/06/05/Pulse/Theater.Goes.Digital-3378876.shtml FOLLOW-UP EP, \"TROUBLE IN THE TEA LEAVES\" RELEASED SEPTEMBER 20, 2008 Recorded by Scott Weddle of the band AMELIA in his attic studio and mixed by Dave Fulton (REAVES/FULTON, MILWAUKIE 3), the release is S&O\'s 2nd, following 2005\'s \"Small Dark Light\". Although TITTL continues to venture in the minimalistic splendor of the previous record, a variety of guest musicians are incorporated to accentuate the film score-like quality. Highlights include Scott Weddle on lap steel in the nostalgic ballad \"Wapsiana\", Jolie Clausen on percussion in the trashy, Tom Waits-esque \"Bad Baby Pie\" and Michael Grossman on violin throughout, reinforcing the ephemeral quality of this sad yet electric whirlpool of songs. Find it here on CD Baby. CONTACT INFORMATION andy.r.fish@gmail.com