Cutleri is an all-women trio based in Brooklyn, NY who play an original blend of folk and experimental music, fashioning themselves as “chamber folk”. Since their formation in early 2009, Cutleri’s varied approach to genre has led them to veer off into sea shanties, chamber music, operatic vocal lines, lyric and dissonant three-part harmonies, and raucous rhythms within their songwriting. This eclectic repertoire is accompanied by an unorthodox instrumentation drawn from John Cage and the Fluxus artists of the sixties that features the sound of candlesticks, typewriters, and gardening equipment, allowing the group to transmute traditional folk, and redefine the genre for a contemporary audience. The performance of more conventional instrumentation within the band is approached with this same inspiration in mind, leading to otherworldly, abrasive violin licks combined with slippery, psychedelic clarinet lines, all underpinned by a banjo sound that can be melodious and soothing one moment, and percussive and arrhythmic the next.
This infusion of the avant-garde into traditional folk formats has allowed Cutleri to enjoy appeal to a wide range of audiences, enabling them to perform at a variety of music venues throughout the northeast. As a result, Cutleri has extended their versatility and innovation to their live performances, molding themselves to suit to intimate, acoustic venues like Pete’s Candy Store, The Chelsea Hotel, and Zebulon in New York City, as well as Zuzu at The Middle East in Boston and The Grape Room in Philadelphia, while enhancing their larger shows at NYC venues such as Monkeytown, Cinema Unseen in NYU’s University Settlement and Public Assembly with additional musicians, and visuals shaped for their performances in real time, courtesy of Waking Dream Visuals.
Cutleri is Jessie Shaffer (Fork), Heidi Harris (Knife), and Christen Napier (Spoon):
Jessie Shaffer is a classically trained violinist and self-trained singer who has been playing in bands and writing music since the late nineties and recently released her first solo album, Pulling at My Skirts. Her tastes range from the music of medieval composer Hildegard von Bingen, Meredith Monk and Pauline Oliveros to Rasputina, The Dirty Three and Bikini Kill.
Heidi Harris is a self taught musician focusing on a variety of styles. Her music often falls within the genre of New Weird America. Her creative practice is based on her understanding of, and intimacy with, a variety of traditional and non-traditional sound sources. Her most recent solo release is titled: In the Lee.
Christen Napier is a visual artist and a musician, whose two favorite instruments to play are banjo and typewriter. Her songwriting has a simple quality at first encounter, but reveals many sonic layers and lyrical messages the closer one listens.
We Sink Ships is Cutleri’s debut album, recorded and produced at Barefoot Flamingo Recording alongside the beautiful Delaware River in Barryville, NY.
Jessie Shaffer
~ Fork ~
Violin, Mandolin, Melodica, Vocals
Heidi Harris
~ Knife ~
Clarinet, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboard, Percussion, Vocals
Christen Napier
~ Spoon ~
Banjo, Typewriter, JawHarp, Percussion, Vocals
