Serafina Steer

Serafina Steer (born 30 April 1982) is an English harpist, pianist, singer and songwriter.[1]

Serafina Steer
Serafina performing at Corbet Place, 2006.
Serafina performing at Corbet Place, 2006.
Background information
Born (1982-04-30) 30 April 1982
London, England
Instrument(s)Harp, keyboard
Labelscurrent: Stolen Recordings Ltd; previous: Static Caravan
Websiteserafinasteer.com

Early life and education

Steer is the daughter of composer Michael Maxwell Steer and stage designer Deirdre Clancy.[2][3] She started learning the harp at age seven and graduated from Trinity College of Music with first-class honours.[4][2]

Career

In 2007 Steer released a 7" single and an album entitled Cheap Demo Bad Science on Static Caravan records. Some tracks were recorded and produced in collaboration with Mike Lindsay of folktronica band Tunng, while some were recorded with Kristian Robinson, aka Capitol K. The album opens with a cover version of Brian Eno's "By This River" but all other songs are her own.

In 2010 she released Change is Good, Change is Good, again on Static Caravan. It was described by Jarvis Cocker as one of his favourite albums of the year and well "worth a listen". Recording was interrupted when Steer's harp was stolen from her car. Benge made his collection of analogue synthesizers available to fill in the harp parts. Patrick Wolf described the album in The Observer as if "Stereolab and Shirley Collins made an album together about the trials of 21st-century romance."[5]

Later in 2010, Steer recorded the Bloody Hell EP with Paul Jones of Stolen Recordings. The EP features three songs from Change is Good, Change is Good and two new songs, and includes the art work of Polly Huggett and RWM Hunt. These unadorned "live" harp and voice recordings were intended as a watermark, after months without an instrument and then with a new make of harp.

The 2013 album The Moths Are Real, on Stolen Recordings, was produced by Jarvis Cocker. Something called The Mind Is A Trap followed in 2019.

Collaborations

Steer has appeared both live and on record with musicians including Patrick Wolf, Tunng, Capitol K, Cibelle, the Memory Band, Balearic Folk Orchestra, James Yorkston, Adem, Chrome Hoof, Shimmy Rivers and Canal, Leafcutter John, Simon Bookish, and Seb Rochford. She has also worked with Jarvis Cocker and Bat for Lashes.

She has also performed with her brother Sam Steer, who did the animation for the music video of her song "Tiger" in his room in Camberwell. The Branchage Film Festival, Jersey, recently commissioned Steer to compose a live soundtrack to a film of her choosing. Steer and her brother are working with PRS Women Make Music funding to create a psychedelic harp and stop-motion animation response to Kenneth Anger's Rabbit's Moon, called Postman's Familiar.

In 2010 and 2011 Steer joined John Foxx and the Maths for live concerts in London playing analogue synthesizers and bass guitar. In 2012 she appeared in the London Sinfonietta's New Music Show 3.[6]

Serafina Steer at Manchester Pride on 25 August 2013

In 2013 she performed with Patrick Wolf at Manchester Pride.

In 2015, she formed a new band, Bas Jan. Bas Jan released their first album Yes I Jan in 2018.

Discography

Studio albums
  • Cheap Demo Bad Science, 2007, Static Caravan
  • Change is Good, Change is Good, 2010, Static Caravan
  • The Moths Are Real, 2013, Stolen Recordings
  • The Mind is a Trap, 2019, Vitamin Concept Records

EPs
  • Japan Tour EP, 2006, Static Caravan
  • Public Spirited, 2008, Static Caravan
  • Bloody Hell, 2010, Stolen Recordings

Singles
  • "Peach Heart" / "Mano E Mano", 2007, Static Caravan

Compilations
  • The Ground Bellow Me (Capitol K version of "Seven Bridge"), 2006 from Utrophia 03 Utrophia
  • Cheap Demo Bad Science ("They Came From The Stars, I Saw Them" version) 2007, 93 Free CDs
  • Uncomfortable (Capitol K version), 2007, Stolen Comp, Stolen Recordings

References
  1. Serafina Steer's Website.
  2. "Doleful tune that accompanies a harpist's career". The Guardian. 30 September 2001.
  3. "About Us". Cherubim Music Trust.
  4. "Serafina Steer speaks her language". For Folk's Sake. 31 January 2013.
  5. "The best sounds of 2010 – picked by the biggest artists", The Observer, Sunday, 28 November 2010.
  6. New Music Show 3 Program.
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