The Tiny
(Indie Rock, Jazz/Blues, Country/Folk)
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The Tiny may be the most aptly named band in the history of music.
Augmented only by mournful cello, upright bass and the occasional pump organ, bell or hacksaw, Ellekari Larsson's otherworldly voice and piano can cast a dark, delicate spell and the trio's extended harmonies can scale teetering symphonic heights, and yet the songs remain delicate and, yes, tiny ... as well haunting, understated and perfectly imperfect on Close Enough, the Stockholm-based band's first LP.
If it's true that quiet is the new loud, The Tiny are going to be huge.
In her early years in Stockholm, singer/pianist/songwriter Ellekari aspired to be a professional figure skater until a fateful slip on the ice caused her to seek early retirement at age 14. She took up soprano trombone, dabbled in punk rock and ska, even did a stint singing in a big band led by her musician father (who played with Sammy Davis, Jr.)
Gifted with a voice that can seduce, snarl and soar in the space of a single song, Ellekari did some time in music school but soon became frustrated with the rules of so-called free jazz. The tradition of great female eccentrics like Edith Piaf, Bjork & Kate Bush beckoned and inspired; soon, the young singer dreamed of a band that could carry her music box melodies and surreal, sociologic lyrics to the stage.
In early 2002, Ellekari met Leo Svensson, a cellist, organ & saw player. He had just moved to Stockholm after dropping out of the Royal Academy of Classical Music in Copenhagen. Their free and collaborative style clicked, and the Tiny was born with the addition of an upright bass, played on record by Johan Berling and on recent tours by Torbjorn Zefferberg.
The Tiny's unique sound and songcraft brought high praise from critics and musical peers on recent tours of Europe and America. Ellekari appeared on Ed Harcourt’s latest album “Strangers” and has been joined onstage by David Poe and what many consider to be the ghost of Sammy Davis, Jr. She also toured and recorded with jazz quintet Vega, and contributed vocals to Swedish club favorites The Odd Couple.
The songs on the Tiny's debut LP explore loneliness and solitude, but not without humor. Tunes like "Closer," and "Across The Bridge," the album's two gems, are somehow both heartbreaking and uplifting; "No Money" ruminates frankly on materialism and being broke; "Just Like You" is a poetic critique of a drunk, set to a sort of Scandavian hoedown, in which Larsson sings, "Just like a flower, you need your drink and no one in your way ... I know your phantoms, I know them well, and I can make them go away." It's beautiful stuff, defiantly odd and self-assured, a strangely appealing music. -- wilskil
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