Sally Seltmann

Sally Seltmann

Sally Seltmann performing at Rosemount Hotel, Perth in July 2010.
Background information
Birth name Sally Mary Russell
Also known as New Buffalo
Born (1975-09-11) 11 September 1975
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres Indie rock, indie pop
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, producer, engineer
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, keyboards, flute, percussion, accordion, drums
Years active Early 1990s–present
Labels Arts & Crafts
Dot Dash
Lojinx[1]
Associated acts Lustre 4
Spdfgh
Paul Kelly
Seeker Lover Keeper
Alphabet Botanical
The Avalanches
Website www.sallyseltmann.com

Sally Mary Seltmann (born Sally Mary Russell, 11 September 1975), is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. From 2000 to 2009, Seltmann used the stage name, New Buffalo. Under that name, Seltmann wrote, performed, arranged and produced her debut album, The Last Beautiful Day in September 2004. Her second album, Somewhere, Anywhere appeared in March 2007. Seltmann and Canadian singer-songwriter Feist, co-wrote the song "1234" (originally "Sally's Song") which was featured in a 2007 iPod Nano commercial. It became a Top 10 hit on the United States Billboard Hot 100 for Feist. Seltmann is married to Darren Seltmann of electronic music group, The Avalanches. In April 2010, Seltmann released her third solo album, Heart That's Pounding. Late that year, she formed an indie rock trio, Seeker Lover Keeper, with fellow Australians Sarah Blasko and Holly Throsby. They issued a self-titled album in June 2011, which peaked at number three on the ARIA Albums Chart.

As a songwriter, Seltmann has won Australasian Performing Right Association awards for Professional Development – Pop/Dance Music in 2001 and Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year in 2008. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2007 she was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album for Somewhere, Anywhere.

Biography

Early years

Sally Seltmann was born as Sally Mary Russell on 11 September 1975 and grew up in Sydney as the fourth of six children.[2][3] As a child she had piano lessons learning classical music and later "used to love singing in little jazz ensembles, '20s and '30s style songs".[3][4] One of her inspirations was listening to Marilyn Monroe's show tunes.[5] In the early 1990s, she was the vocalist and founder of power pop group Lustre 4 alongside Lara Meyerratken on guitar.[3][6] Other songwriters for Lustre 4 included Nicholas Devenish and Richard King.[7] The band's six-track extended play, Double Happiness had "significant airplay" on national radio station, Triple J, where the group's music displayed "[s]himmering guitars and songs of young love".[8] While still a member of Lustre 4, Seltmann briefly replaced Liz Payne on guitar in indie rock band, Spdfgh, in mid-1995.[9] She had co-written the track, "You Made Me" with Spdfgh's Tania Bowers (aka Via Tania) for their album, Leave Me Like This (1995).[9][10] Seltmann continued her work with Lustre 4 and was replaced in Spdfgh by Christina Hannaford.[6][9]

In 1996, for her 21st birthday she shared a party with fellow indie singer, Ben Lee (ex-Noise Addict), who turned 18 on the same day (11 September): each had a special cake made by Meyerratken with icing as a painting of each individual.[11][12] In 1997, after Lustre 4 disbanded, Seltmann moved to Melbourne where she attended an art school and worked as a photographer and waitress.[3][6] In early 1999 she worked with Bowers again to compose a track for the latter's debut solo EP, Sunday.[10] Seltmann provided backing vocals on "Electricity" for Melbourne-based electronic band, The Avalanches' 1999 single – it was later on their debut album, Since I Left You (2000).[13]

New Buffalo years

Seltmann as New Buffalo, live in Melbourne, 2004

By 2000, Sally Seltmann had re-invented her musical style to create New Buffalo: she adopted a sound that replaced guitars with keyboards over smooth paced bass and soothing beats.[14] In February 2000 Seltmann's debut release as New Buffalo was the track "16 Beats", which was available as an MP3 download via Ben Lee's web site.[8][15] Of her musical transition, Seltmann said "I used to be in an all-girl punk band called Lustre 4. We were very, very loud... There were four of us [...] touring and having fun [...] Now I make dreamy pop songs [...] I like cutting up orchestral strings, but not plain-jane style".[4] In 2001, Seltmann (as Sally Russell) won a Professional Development Award for 'Pop/Dance Music' from the Australasian Performing Rights Association.[8] That year she signed with Modular Recordings and released her debut five-track EP, About Last Night, featuring "16 Beats".[2][16] The EP was produced by her fiance, Darren Seltmann of The Avalanches.[4][16] MusicOMH's Michael Hubbard noted "[it] is a slow-paced affair of 1950s sci-fi movie effects, cut-back rhythm section ... what we end up with is something that's not quite a soundtrack, not quite a pop tune and really not quite anything".[17] The EP was also released in the United Kingdom through Heavenly Recordings, which saw New Buffalo invited to tour throughout the UK supporting Ed Harcourt in 2001.[3][16]

In 2002, Seltmann recorded tracks in Los Angeles with Jake Davies, but after Heavenly withdrew their financial support, she decided to set up her own home studio, The Lonely Studio, in Melbourne.[16][18] In 2003, Sally Russell had married Darren Seltmann and they lived in suburban Yarraville.[19] There she wrote and arranged her debut album, The Last Beautiful Day, which was released in Australia on 20 September 2004 by Dot Dash.[16][19] The album features special guest appearances by Beth Orton on backing vocals and Jim White of Dirty Three on drums.[2][16] However, Seltmann performed the vast majority of instrumentation on her own as well as engineering, mixing, programming and producing the work.[13][20] According to The Age's reviewer, Anthony Carew, "The Last Beautiful Day is the brilliant result. Largely composed of analogue organs, scratchy samples, and layers of Seltmann's thin-yet-tender voice, it's a profound piece of personal expression, a collection of lyrical pop-songs that're a product of a single individual".[21] On 23 August 2005 it was issued by Arts & Crafts in North America. When touring in support of the album, Seltmann sometimes performed solo and sometimes New Buffalo included other musicians, John Lee, Simon Parker and Brendan Webb.[20]

In July 2005 a self-titled EP was released featuring two new songs – a collaboration with composer Rae Howell, and a duet with Sweden's Jens Lekman – plus re-mixes and re-worked versions of songs from the debut album. Seltmann provided a cover version of Crowded House's "Four Seasons in One Day" for a tribute album, She Will Have Her Way (2005) – it was used in the 2011 promo of the Australian soap Neighbours. In late 2005 Seltmann toured Canada supporting her label mates, Feist and Broken Social Scene.[22][23]

Seltmann as New Buffalo, 2007.

On 24 March 2007, Seltmann released her second LP, Somewhere, Anywhere in Australia, and to North American audiences on 28 August 2007. Mike Mineo of Obscure Sound 2.0 felt "Seltmann’s style is very consistent through each and every song. Laden with a light touch of keys, her weightless vocals provide as scenery to the accompanying piano and acoustic instruments surrounding her".[24] Also in August, Seltmann was invited by Deborah Conway to take part in the Broad Festival project, which toured major Australian cities including performing at the Sydney Opera House.[25] With Seltmann and Conway were Anne McCue, Jade Macrae and Abbe May – they performed their own and each other's songs.[26] In the same year, she toured as a support act for Air in Australia. She also toured in support of Paul Kelly on his Stolen Apples Tour of Australia. One of the last performances, on 20 September in Toowoomba, Queensland, was filmed and released on DVD as Live Apples: Stolen Apples Performed Live in its Entirety Plus 16 More Songs, in April 2008.[27][28] The release includes Seltmann and Kelly performing a duet of a cover version of The Triffids' 1984 song, "Raining Pleasure".[29]

Seltmann co-wrote the song "1234" (originally called "Sally's Song") with Feist,[30] which was released on Feist's third solo album The Reminder (April 2007).[14][22] The song was featured in a November 2007 iPod Nano commercial and transformed Feist's career.[14][31] By proxy, Seltmann's New Buffalo project became better known as she was mentioned in a number of publications, including Entertainment Weekly, which named her as an artist to watch in September 2007.

Heart That's Pounding

In December 2009, Sally Seltmann announced the details of her third studio album, Heart That's Pounding, which was released by Arts & Crafts on 6 April 2010.[32] The album was co-produced by Seltmann with film composer François Tétaz.[33][34] It was the first album to be released under the Seltmann name, "I just felt like I was ready to go by my real name and not hide behind New Buffalo".[35] The lead single from the album, "Harmony to My Heartbeat", was released through iTunes on 24 November 2009,[36] and the accompanying music video directed by Antuong Nguyen of Moop Jaw followed on 15 December.[37] In December 2009, the Seltmanns relocated to Sydney to reside.[38]

In March 2010, Seltmann toured the US and Canada.[34] On 14 August, Seltmann was guest programmer on rage with a playlist of over 50 songs.[39] Also that month she formed an indie rock trio, Seeker Lover Keeper, with fellow Australians Sarah Blasko and Holly Throsby.[40] They issued a self-titled album in June 2011, which peaked at number three on the ARIA Albums Chart.[41] In November, Seltmann, Blasko and Throsby each provided a cover version of songs by Neil Finn and Tim Finn on the They Will Have Their Way Tour (see They Will Have Their Way) with various artists including Clare Bowditch, Lior, Paul Dempsey and Alexander Gow (of Oh Mercy) also appearing. Seltmann accompanied herself on a piano for her rendition of "Four Seasons in One Day", later Seeker Lover Keeper performed "Sinner" from Neil's 1998 album Try Whistling This.[42] In March 2012, Seltmann is due to support an Australian tour by Bon Iver.[43]

Personal life

In 2003, Sally Russell married Darren Seltmann, of The Avalanches.[2] In late 2008, the couple had a daughter.[44] As of December, 2009, the family resides in Sydney.[38]

Her older brother, Luke Russell, is a philosophy lecturer at Sydney University, where he completed his Ph.D., in 2002.[45][46] Luke also has a side career in pop rock; in 2007, he issued his debut album, Kiss That Lasted All Weekend, on Half a Cow Records.[46]

Awards and nominations

AMP Award

The Australian Music Prize (AMP) is presented annually from 2005 and is sponsored by the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA).[47]

Year Nominee/work Award Result
2007 Somewhere, Anywhere – New Buffalo Australian Music Prize[48] finalist
2011 Heart That's Pounding – Sally Seltmann Australian Music Prize[47] finalist

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".[49]

Year Nominee/work Award Result
2001 Sally Russell Professional Development Awards – Pop/Dance Music[8] Won
2008 Sally Seltmann Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year[50] Won
"1234" – Feist (Sally Seltmann, Leslie Feist) Song of the Year[51] Nominated

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are presented annually from 1987 by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[52]

Year Nominee/work Award Result
2007 Somewhere, Anywhere – New Buffalo Best Adult Contemporary Album[53] Nominated

Credits

According to Allmusic, Seltmann is credited with: vocals, harmony vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, flute (wood), organ, percussion, accordion, drums, Roland 2000, programming, producer, engineer, composer, mixing.[13]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Compilation appearances

References

  1. ↑ http://www.lojinx.com/artists/sally-seltmann
  2. 1 2 3 4 Seltmann, Sally. "About". Sally Seltmann Official Website. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Dalton, Stephen (9 March 2002). "Reluctant Songwriting Prodigy – New Buffalo". NME. Archived from the original on 24 June 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 Stacey, Dan (March 2003). "New Buffalo – Like Suzanne Vega on Downers, Apparently". ID Magazine. Archived from the original on 31 July 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Dovet, Rachel (March 2010). "Sally Seltmann – Hopeless Romantic" (PDF). Paste: Signs of Life in Music, Film & Culture. Canvas Media. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 Mason, Stewart. "New Buffalo – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "ACE Title Search – 'Not the Enemy'". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Professional Development Awards: 2001 Winners". Australasian Performing Right Association. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  9. 1 2 3 "Spdfgh". Music Australia (National Library of Australia). 21 April 2003. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  10. 1 2 Carew, Anthony (6 August 2004). "Sweet Home". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  11. ↑ Nimmervoll, Ed. "Ben Lee – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Lindsay "The Doc" McDougall (interviewer); Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltmann, Holly Throsby (interviewees) (24 November 2011). The Doctor: Thursday 24 November Podcast – Seeker Lover Keeper in the Studio (MP3) (online). Sydney, NSW: Triple J (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)). 25:01–25:37 minutes in. Retrieved 19 January 2012. SS: I had a really good 21st... This is me Sally. LM: Yes. SS: Um, 'cause I've got the same birth... I was born on the same day as Ben Lee but I'm three years older than him. LM: Ah. SS: ...and we had a shared 18th... his 18th and my 21st... LM: That's... SS: and um... We had bands play and my friend... my best friend Lara made birthday cakes for us... that were like... a painting of our faces... out of the icing. LM: Wow! SS: ... and it was... a particularly special birthday SB: That's great HT: Yeah that's really good LM: So there's never been any birthday jealousy between you and Ben Lee as to who has the better birthday? SS: No... we just always contact each other... LM: Ahh HT: Their birthday is on September 11
  13. 1 2 3 "Sally Seltmann – Credits". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 Jensen, Erik (19 March 2008). "New Buffalo". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  15. ↑ Lee, Ben (2009). "Ben Lee – The Rebirth of Venus". Ben Lee. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "New Buffalo". Music Australia (National Library of Australia). 24 February 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  17. ↑ Hubbard, Michael (11 March 2002). "New Buffalo – About Last Night". Music: Track Reviews. MusicOMH. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  18. ↑ "New Buffalo & Sally Seltmann – Biography". Always On the Run. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  19. 1 2 Blackman, Guy (24 October 2004). "Buffalo Girl Finds Her Range". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  20. 1 2 Hutchinson, Carrie (December 2004). "Buffalo Heard". Rush. Archived from the original on 31 July 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  21. ↑ Carew, Anthony (24 September 2004). "Album Review for The Last Beautiful Day – New Buffalo". The Age. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 2 December 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  22. 1 2 Butler, Josh (4 June 2010). "Seltmann Speaks Up". Oyster. Jonathan Morris, Monica Nakata. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
  23. ↑ "'1234' by Feist". Songfacts. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  24. ↑ Mineo, Mike (8 April 2007). "New Buffalo (Sally Seltmann) is Somewhere, Anywhere". Obscure Sound 2.0. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  25. ↑ Elliott, Tim (19 August 2008). "Lady's Night at the Beckoning Microphone". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  26. ↑ "Broad 2007". Broad Festival. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  27. ↑ Sennet, Sean (April 2008). "The Fruits of Our Labour – Paul Kelly". OurBrisbane. Brisbane City Council. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  28. ↑ "Live Apples – Paul Kelly". Trove. National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  29. ↑ "Live Apples [kit] / Paul Kelly". Music Australia. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  30. ↑ "ACE Title Search – '1234'". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  31. ↑ "Feist gets big boost from little iPod". Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  32. ↑ Arts & Crafts
  33. ↑ Caird, Sophie Naima (April 2010). "Sunny Sally Seltmann". Exclaim!. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  34. 1 2 Shedden, Iain (8 July 2010). "Buffalo Maes Way for a Chirpier Sally". The Australian. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  35. ↑ Ballard, Tom; Dyson, Alex (23 July 2010). "Sally Seltmann on Sally Seltmann". Music News. Triple J (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)). Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  36. ↑ "New Single – 'Harmony to My Heartbeat'". Sally Seltmann Official Website. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
  37. ↑ "New Clip – "Harmony to My Heartbeat"". Sally Seltmann Official Website. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  38. 1 2 Rule, Dan (9 April 2010). "Sally Seltmann – Interview". The Vine. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
  39. ↑ "Guests and Specials: Sally Seltmann". rage. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  40. ↑ Shedden, Iain (21 May 2011). "Seeker, Lover, Keeper". The Australian. News Limited (News Corporation). Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  41. ↑ Medien, Steffen. "Discography Seeker Lover Keeper". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  42. ↑ Kempnich, Clare (16 November 2011). "Review: They Will Have Their Way @ QPAC". [News] Unlimited. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  43. ↑ Wright, Emma (15 December 2011). "Tour Updates: Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Yukon Blonde, Thee Oh Sees, Guttermouth, Jay & Silent Bob, Ronan Keating and J Mascis". Health Media & the AU Review. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  44. ↑ "Sally Seltmann Bio". JamBase Inc. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  45. ↑ "Dr Luke Russell – Department of Philosophy". University of Sydney. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  46. 1 2 "Luke Russell – The Kiss That Lasted All Weekend". Half a Cow Records. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  47. 1 2 "The Amp – The 6th Australian Music Prize". Phonographic Performance Company of Australia. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  48. ↑ "2007 Shortlist – The Australian Music Prize". Phonographic Performance Company of Australia. 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  49. ↑ "APRA History". Australasian Performing Right Association | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  50. ↑ "Nominations > Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year – 2008". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society. 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  51. ↑ "Nominations for Song of the Year – 2008". Australasian Performing Right Association. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  52. ↑ "25th Anniversary ARIA Awards – 2011". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  53. ↑ "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 2007: 21st Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  54. ↑ http://www.lojinx.com/releases/sally-seltmann/hey-daydreamer. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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