interview with npr performance today - music is music -
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ABOUT
“She can do anything with the cello, but what will it be?” - Janos Starker
Innovative performer Shannon Hayden has carved a distinctive niche in the music world, touring globally for over a decade with her unique setup: a 19th-century cello enhanced by modern amplification and electronic modifications. Her sound, deeply rooted in classical music, has been equally shaped by a lifelong passion for experimental soundscapes. Despite a foundation in classical cello training, it's her unconventional upbringing that has profoundly influenced her musical journey.
Raised on an off-grid organic farm, Shannon was nurtured in an environment that valued creative thinking and the inspiration drawn from one's surroundings. This ethos encouraged her to transcend traditional approaches to music, allowing her to interpret and create beyond the confines of written notes.
Having the opportunity at an early age to work with legendary cellist Janos Starker and later Aldo Parisot at Yale University where she received an advanced degree didn't limit her exploration into diverse musical realms. Hayden's music is a fusion of ethereal vocals and intricately layered strings, creating a soundscape that is both enchanting and groundbreaking. Her approach to music combines the warmth of analog with the edge of digital manipulation by blending lush string arrangements with dynamic electronic elements. Her music is an exploration of sound and emotion, offering audiences a unique and transformative experience. Through her art, Shannon Hayden continues to redefine the boundaries of music, fusing her rich classical heritage with a bold, experimental spirit.
Music
Solo Work
by Shannon Hayden
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Shannon Hayden
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Shannon Hayden
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Shannon Hayden
Classical
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Shannon Hayden and Michael Namirovsky
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Shannon Hayden and Liza Miller
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David Lang, Shannon Hayden, New Music New Haven
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Shannon Hayden
Press
"In album opener “Vanished,” she gives a master class in horror sounds: she alternately mimics the growl of an ’80s slasher-film synth line and the pizzicato slashes of Bernard Herrmann, ultimately tying them together under the gray sky of Mogwai’s work on Les Revenants." - Flood Magazine
Fader Magazine "Vanished" Video Premiere - Read More
"Experimental cellist Shannon Hayden pairs her stringed instrument with a haunted vocal that's reminiscent of Neu Favourite Cross Record to dazzling effect. At once ambient and electronic-leaning and yet tangibly real-world, there's a lasting, heart-warming echo to "Vanished"." - DIY MAG
"Hayden was a one-woman orchestra, switching deftly between electric mandolin, electric cello and lead guitar, often in the same song. Beyond the enveloping, low-register washes she’s best known for (she’s got a fantastic solo album just out), she ran her mando through a bunch of pedals, turning hammering flurries of Dick Dale tremolo-picking into a forest of reverberating notes. And she made the most of what little time she got on lead guitar, taking one of the songs to Memphis on the wings of some warmly purist Muscle Shoals licks." = New York Music Daily
Taken from her forthcoming album, You See The World, "Vanished" is a brooding yet restorative song that has a sense of wet earth about it - a heavy warmth sliced by silver molecules." - Fader Magazine
“Shannon Hayden, in her first New York appearance, looped her cello all night in ways I always hope to hear from my colleagues - great cello sound, great voice, and great songs to boot.” - Todd Reynolds
“Shannon is what I determined as an evidently superior talent in the music world, her ability to entrance the whole room with her single instrument’s eerie sounds and clever use of a loop pedal was an incredible feat and one to never forget.” Lippy Mag, read full concert review
Shannon Hayden and Lily and Madeleine left SPACE in Awe -
"Few sets start off as strong and as determined as Shannon Hayden's did on Friday night. An overlapping recording of Edie Sedgwick stood as the introduction to "Silver Superstar," leading the way for what is probably the best introduction to Hayden's music. There was an immediate grandness to her electric cello, which she loops over and over to create even more depth than the beginning moments promise. It was actually breathtaking seeing her bowing with such finesse all the while creating timed loops. The second song only added to her skill, replacing the recording of Sedgwick her own voice as an added sound to loop along with her cello and sprinkles of crackling filling in the background. At time the sounds of sparks turned more menacing, becoming loud mechanical cranking that only subsided to allow Hayden's intricate musicianship to reveal itself." - Gapers Block, read full concert review
From a performance of David Lang’s “Pierced” at Yale University Sprague Hall
“...but the star turn was Shannon Hayden’s spectacular cello playing in David Lang’s punishingly intense Pierced for three soloists plus strings, offering the piece all the style and brawn it deserves.” - David Stephen Johnson of the New Haven Advocate
"Classical music and modern day electronics, it's a passionate love story, filled with romance, beauty and emotions. Some purists are clearly against such a love affair but even they can't deny that there are some amazing talents in this scene. Well, purists can deny everything, that's true but let's not mind them. Let's enjoy this fascinating album by Chicago based composer Shannon Hayden." - Merchants of Air. read full album review
"Not that I have anything against cellists (I’m a fan of quite a few.), but rarely do they find themselves in the realm of what could be considered “hip.” However, Chicago-based cellist Shannon Hayden would very much seem to fit that description." Philthy Mag, full interview + review here
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