Mariee Sioux

“Mariee Sioux was a delight, an amazingly poetic and telling lyricist, and she seemed to be the den mother of the pack, delicately plucking and strumming an acoustic with her eyes closed.“ LA Record

“Mariee Sioux makes me want to hibernate that deep, wooded kind of hibernation only the most wintery winter can induce. Full of folksy breath and bittersweet syrup, Sioux crafts sorrowful organic sounds and scenes of ancient history. And, though hailing from the Sierra Nevadas, there is a Smoky Mountain momentum to her acoustic hymns. Enchantingly visceral at times, Sioux's songwriting is hard edged, gorgeously poetic and, well, graphic. Take "Buried in Teeth," for example: You'd never guess by the twitter-tinged double-tracked vocals that Sioux's spinning tales of crashing molars and the gut of centuries. The result is an overwhelmingly expansive sound that, while darkened by meticulous fantasy, is uplifted with a soft woodland warble.“ Anika Sabin, Willamette Weekly

The tale of Mariee Sioux began as delicately and spiritually as her captivating song, as a small ember introduced to the universe that soon grew into a flame of hope and illumination. Her dazzling debut album, Faces in the Rocks, weaves together the poetic interpretations of the universe’s deep truths and interconnectedness that have intrigued her since childhood. Each spin invites listeners to be the cast in Mariee’s entrancing tale with a journey ahead that is only beginning.

The stage was set in her hometown of Nevada City, CA, a historically creative community in which artists have flourished over the ages, where Mariee intertwined the vivid verse she had been writing as a child with the life lessons she has learned as an adult for this powerful record. Her roots had been planted deep in music through the love of her mandolin-playing father, but it was not until Mariee ventured a life-changing trip to Patagonia at the age of 17 that she began to play an instrument herself. She soon perfected the spry, delicate finger picking guitar technique featured on Faces in the Rocks, a faultless accompaniment to her strong yet sweetly cooing vocals, and toured internationally with her adoring compatriots Brightblack Morning Light.

Featuring Grammy-nominee Gentle Thunder’s enchanting sound on a redwood-carved Native American flute as well as her own famed father Gary Sobonya on mandolin, Mariee recorded Faces in May 2007 with a troupe of Nevada City’s talented musicians. Recorded with the intent of aligning the magnificence of the human voice with the universe’s creative energy, each song is a stirring exploration of life. Her tales range from the profundity of friendship on the single “Friendboats” to the yearning of self-understanding on “Bundles,” each laced with fabled images and poignant verse. “Two Tongues at One Time,” recently released on a rare 7” vinyl, is a sonnet-filled homage to the ancestors who traversed the wild lands of America hundreds of years ago, reminding listeners of our vital ties to our past.

Continuing the folk tradition of songwriting greats such as Joni Mitchell, Kate Wolf and Nick Drake, Faces glorifies an appreciation of the working spirit and the oneness of nature that remains timeless.

Make sure to check out the single “Friendboats,” available now at www.myspace.com/marieesioux