DM Stith

David Michael Stith is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who released his first album Heavy Ghost in 2009 on the Asthmatic Kitty label. He currently resides in Rochester, New York.

DM Stith
Birth nameDavid Michael Stith
Born (1980-06-24) June 24, 1980
OriginBuffalo, New York
GenresIndie folk, baroque pop, psychedelic folk, folk rock, alternative rock
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, piano,
Years active2006–present
LabelsAsthmatic Kitty, Historical Fiction Records
WebsiteOfficial website

David Stith comes from a musical family: his father was a college wind ensemble director and former church choir director; his grandfather is professor emeritus in the music department at Cornell University; his mother is a pianist; and his sisters sing opera and play piano and percussion.

Stith's involvement in the music industry began as graphic designer and visual artist for musicians on the Asthmatic Kitty Records label, art directing and designing for artists such as Sufjan Stevens, My Brightest Diamond, Castanets and Son Lux. Through working with these artists on their projects, Stith began to write and record his own music, for which he was signed by Asthmatic Kitty Records.

From 2016 to 2019, Stith worked in the design department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, NY. In 2020, he relocated to Rochester, NY to focus on writing and building a private recording studio. He continues to create artwork for artists in the NY new classical scene through his design entity, Vermeerier. Notable works include the Grammy-nominated debut album by Roomful of Teeth, the pulitzer prize winning Partita for 8 Voices by Caroline Shaw, and album covers for artists such as Glenn Kotche, Nadine Shah JFDR, Tyshawn Sorey, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Mary Halvorson. [1]

Music

Heavy Ghost is characterized by densely-layered music, featuring strings and horns on top of Stith's guitar and piano tracks. His multi-tracked voice often provides a quasi-choral backing. Released in 2009, it was very favorably reviewed by many critics, garnering a score of 84 at Metacritic.

Stith has also opened for Sufjan Stevens, and played piano and sang onstage with him during Stevens' 2010 fall tour. On November 19, 2010, he appeared on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, supporting Stevens as he performed "Too Much" (from Stevens' 2010 album The Age of Adz).

Stith collaborated with fellow American John-Mark Lapham, formerly of UK/US quartet The Earlies. Under the band name The Revival Hour, "Hold Back", the duo's debut single, was released in November 2010; their EP, Clusterchord, was released in November 2012. Their debut album, Scorpio Little Devil, was released in 2013.

In late 2014, Stith announced a European tour, his first set of live performances as DM Stith in three years, adding that it will be "a sneak preview of his new release due out later in 2015".[2]

In September 2015, Stith's collaboration with composer Sarah Kirkland Snider, Shara Nova and Padma Newsome, was released on New Amsterdam Records. Unremembered, a thirteen-part song cycle for seven voices, chamber orchestra, and electronics, inspired by poems and illustrations by writer Nathaniel Bellows (W.W. Norton, HarperCollins), is a meditation on innocence and memory.  

His second studio album, Pigeonheart, produced by Ben Hillier (Blur, Elbow, Nadine Shah) was released on July 29, 2016, with positive reviews, including a score of 70 on Metacritic. Pigeonheart is characterized by the integration of modular synthesizers into Stith's choirs, pianos and acoustic instruments. The Guardian called it "brilliantly compelling".[3]

Stith's third album, Fata Morgana, produced by Thomas Bartlett, was released April 14, 2023, by Historical Fiction Records.[4]

Artistry

In 2022, after releasing a 13-minute remake of R.E.M.'s hit single Man on the Moon, lead singer Michael Stipe compared DM's voice to PJ Harvey, Leonard Cohen, Nina Simone and Perfume Genius.[5]

Personal life

An interview by Wyndham Wallace for The Quietus spoke about his experience with writer's block and psychosomatic muteness and deafness. Stith suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and speaks openly about struggling with mental health. He identifies as gay.[6]

References
  1. "Four questions with composer Sarah Kirkland Snider; Hitchcock Film Festival begins". MinnPost. March 9, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  2. "Sarah Kirkland Snider's Unremembered Is Hard to Forget". New York Music Daily. February 9, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  3. Carnwath, Ally (July 31, 2016). "DM Stith: Pigeonheart review – brilliantly compelling". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  4. "DM Stith – Fata Morgana – Historical Fiction Records". Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  5. "DM Stith's "Hypnotic, Bone-Deep" Version of "Man on the Moon" | R.E.M.HQ". Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  6. "The Quietus | News | INTERVIEW: DM Stith". The Quietus. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
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