Fences

Fences serves as the alias chosen by Chris Mansfield, who earned his degree from Berklee and favors breezy pop melodies paired with melancholy words. He borrowed the moniker from an August Wilson drama, then relocated to the Pacific Northwest once his studies ended, where he started building recognition around Seattle. Eventually his wistful sound drew the attention of Sara Quin from the Canadian pair Tegan and Sara, prompting a trip to her Vancouver studio for a ten-day session that yielded the debut album Fences. Mansfield returned in 2014 with the follow-up Lesser Oceans under the Fences banner, highlighted by the track “Arrows” that enlisted Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.