Artist:The Low Anthem
Song:Charlie Darwin
Album:Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
The folk music duo The Low Anthem made a big splash when their 2009 album Oh My God, Charlie Darwin was released on Warner Music's Nonesuch label. They have returned to indie labels. But the exposure they got from releasing a couple of albums on a major label has given them longevity. The Low Anthem is from Providence, RI. Ben Knox Miller and Jeffrey Prystowsky met while DJing a jazz radio show on Brown University's radio station WBRU. After playing together on a local baseball team, they formed The Low Anthem in 2006. Bluesman Dan Lefkowitz joined and contributed a couple of songs. He left the music business. But The Low Anthem continued to perform his songs. They started mixing electronics in with their music. They self released an album in 2006. Then they added clarinetist and singer Jocie Adams for the 2007 album What the Crow Brings. Then they released the album Oh My God, Charlie Darwin in 2008, their big break came when they went to the Newport Folk Festival and gave copies of the album to Paste Magazine. After Paste featured the album, The Low Anthem signed with Warner's Nonesuch label and on Bella Union in England. The major label exposure got them appearances on Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, The Newport Folk Festival and Austin City Limits. They appeared on the TV shows Later...with Jools Holland and Late Show with David Letterman. The album sold 100K copies. There's no way they sell that many on their own label. Miller and Prystowsky wrote and produced the album. Their interest in Charles Darwin came after a trip to a local zoo. The 2011 album Smart Flesh was also released on Nonesuch. After they toured to promote the album, the band announced that they would not perform songs from Charlie Darwin/Smart Flesh anymore because they were concerned about getting complacent. They also left Nonesuch and Bella Union. Since then, they released the 2016 album Eyeland on Razor & Tie's Washington Square label and the 2018 album The Salt Doll Went to Measure the Depth of the Sea on Joyful Noise Recordings. In 2019, they released a 10th anniversary limited edition vinyl pressing of Oh My God, Charlie Darwin and toured to support it. It's not known if The Low Anthem is still together. They haven't posted on Facebook since 2019. That's not a good sign. Here's the video for Charlie Darwin by The Low Anthem.
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