The Filmshop Presents Wanderlust: A Film

When Prince calls you a brilliant performer, you know it's a high compliment. The Purple One was referring to Leah Siegel, the singer/songwriter/instrumentalist behind the Brooklyn group Firehorse, after witnessing a performance of hers. Prince was certainly onto something, as Siegel's full array of musical talents are on display on Firehorse's eclectic debut album and so they ran faster….

The gorgeously hypnotizing music of Firehorse references luminaries like Jeff Buckley, PJ Harvey and Kate Bush. However, Firehorse makes a world unto their own, complete with ethereal flourishes, electronic beats and Siegel's smoky vocals. Hypnotic and sexy grooves ("She's A River"), haunting vocals that recall singers like Judy Garland and Doris Day ("My Left Eye") and even bouncy pop rhythms ("Machete Gang Holiday") all figure into the Firehorse repertoire. These seemingly disparate influences can be attributed to Siegel's ability to design and assume different personas, sparked by a background in theater and singing in and co-writing commercials (Siegel wrote a song for a Topsy Foundation commercial, which won a Clio and an award at Cannes). This chameleon-like ability serves Firehorse well in creating a captivating listen.

The myriad of influences that Firehorse draws from should come as no surprise, given Leah Siegel's background. A classical violinist from ages six to twelve, Siegel taught herself to play guitar and sing, resulting in her first songs at fifteen. During her teenage years, she became enamored with musical legends like Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, the Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin and both Tim and Jeff Buckley. Her love for many genres of music continues today. When she's not with Firehorse, Siegel fronts the vintage soul/R&B outfit Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout and sings in the Citizens Band (a ragtag cabaret collective that features musicians from the group Beirut).

The name Firehorse carries quite a large amount of significance to Leah Siegel. As she puts it, "When the Chinese zodiac was still determining personalities..., women born under the sign of the Firehorse were an abomination. A female Firehorse embodies all the abhorrent qualities {according to the culture}: independence, assertiveness and a free-spirit." These qualities are evident in not only Siegel herself but the group's music. Siegel commented, "As I wrote and so they ran faster…, I challenged myself not to be afraid of my desires, all my desires, and each one seemed potentially in conflict with the next. Firehorse reminds me to be exactly who I am, even if it means I'll end up destitute and alone." The writing for the album allowed Siegel to find the courage to write her true feelings and deepest fears, such as experiencing joy after a moment of total surrender ("Our Hearts") and the illusion of childhood innocence ("Young").

Even with several side projects (and her own clothing line in the works), Leah Siegel remains deeply committed to Firehorse. As she says, "I spent six years in the trenches barely breathing and built a career entirely on my own. No agent, no manager - just based on the strength of my voice as a singer and a writer. I'm a work horse. I want to work, and I want to work hard. Horses, you know, they run until they kill themselves. That's how I am." There's no doubt, based up on the strength of and so they ran faster…, Firehorse will be running for quite awhile.

Conveyor is a Brooklyn-based music project spawned by the fated juncture of a wandering tarot of musicians in Gainesville, FL. Was it kismet or perhaps a primordial summon which led these gentlemen purveyors of sound to individually tune in and migrate North to the bustling seductress known as New York CIty? Their retort is Sun Ray, a debut EP birthed and released in the warm embrace of Spring 2011. Brimming with lucid, homey synths layered over acoustic guitars and harmonious vocals, they channel extraterrestrial bible-thumpers drenched in love, spouting acid-soaked pop unabashed to beam with the simultaneous embrace of life/death realities backed by a polyrhythmic, pulsing backdrop. A decidedly grand task indeed, and following a string of self-released, handmade EPs, they are releasing their debut full-length album in 2012 with Brooklyn’s Paper Garden Records, a testament to our nature and the nature of ourselves.

ALYSON GREENFIELD experiments with synthesizers, glockenspiels, chord organs, drums, autoharps, and beatboxers, and string trios to create her "eclectic sound" (AM New York), chock-full of "satiating and seductive songs" (LA Examiner). As well as having shared the stage with indie-folk favorites Jenny Owen Youngs and Holly Miranda, Greenfield is no stranger to the electro and hip-hop scenes. Future Rock's remix of her song "Understand the Sky" was released on the Chicago-based electronica trio's most recent album, and the original version of the song currently appears in Josh Stolberg's (Good Luck Chuck, Pirhana 3D) newest feature film Conception. Greenfield's most recent release, Rock Out With Your Glockenspiel Out, an album of hip-hop covers which was named the #2 Covers EP of 2011 by Cover Me has gained media attention, especially for her "re-inventions" (Cover Me) of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" on a glockenspiel and L.L. Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" on a baby grand piano, which have led to feature performances at both the 2010 and 2011 American Beatboxing Championships, alongside Rahzel, Raaka (Dialted Peoples), and DJ Johnny Juice (Public Enemy). Greenfield was named "One of the 5 CMJ 2011 Acts You Should Have Seen" by The Faster Times, an "Upcoming NYC Artist" by NYC's The Deli, and was one of the first 5 artists chosen to record at Converse's Rubber Tracks studio in Brooklyn. Greenfield's engaging and charismatic live performances where "the stage becomes her playroom" (Venus Zine), have been called "amazing...funny, spontaneous" (Thy Daily Noise) and "mesmerizing to watch" (Music Crush Girl). In addition to being a songwriter and performer, Greenfield is also the Founder/Director of the Tinderbox Music Festival, an annual Brooklyn-based event showcasing emerging female musicians, and giving back to NYC non-profits empowering young women through the arts. The festival has grown quickly since its formation in 2010, garnering press from The New York Times, Time Out New York, Billboard, Brooklyn Vegan, and more.