Biography
The New York folk collective Hem traces its origins to 1999, when songwriter Dan Messe joined forces with producer and engineer Gary Maurer, whose prior credits included work alongside Jon Spencer, Luna, Fountains of Wayne, and James Iha. Their shared aim was to craft a recording that blended traditional American sounds with modern textures. Messe brought in longtime acquaintance Steve Curtis on guitar and mandolin, then advertised in The Village Voice for a vocalist. After sifting through a stack of unsuitable submissions, the notice was withdrawn until Sally Ellyson contacted Messe about the opening, though she initially downplayed her singing ability.
Messe requested a sample anyway and received a cassette of lullabies Ellyson had made for a friend’s child; the recording proved precisely the voice he sought. What began as a modest endeavor expanded as the participants grew more confident, prompting Messe to liquidate personal items to fund an 18-piece orchestra. The outcome was Rabbit Songs, released in 2001 and captured without samples, computer mixing, or digital processing, relying instead on rich acoustic instrumentation and Ellyson’s calming delivery.
DreamWorks signed the group in early 2003, leading to a July reissue of Rabbit Songs, after which they played club dates across the States with Leona Naess. In September 2004 the band issued the split EP Birds, Beasts, & Flowers alongside the Autumn Defense, followed the next month by the full-length Eveningland. Nettwerk put out No Word from Tom in 2006, a set of covers, rarities, outtakes, demos, and live tracks, while the same year saw the arrival of Funnel Cloud, Hem’s third studio album.
Three years afterward the musicians supplied music for a Central Park summer staging of Twelfth Night that featured Anne Hathaway, Audra McDonald, and Raúl Esparza and called for Irish instrumentals, new compositions, and atmospheric orchestral passages. Several months later the cast joined Hem in the studio; the resulting album appeared in October 2009. Though issued under the band’s name, Twelfth Night was fundamentally a traditional Celtic collection performed by film and stage actors, with Hem functioning as sidemen. After a lengthy separation the members reconvened in a studio during 2012 and returned in spring 2013 with Departure and Farewell on Nettwerk.
Messe requested a sample anyway and received a cassette of lullabies Ellyson had made for a friend’s child; the recording proved precisely the voice he sought. What began as a modest endeavor expanded as the participants grew more confident, prompting Messe to liquidate personal items to fund an 18-piece orchestra. The outcome was Rabbit Songs, released in 2001 and captured without samples, computer mixing, or digital processing, relying instead on rich acoustic instrumentation and Ellyson’s calming delivery.
DreamWorks signed the group in early 2003, leading to a July reissue of Rabbit Songs, after which they played club dates across the States with Leona Naess. In September 2004 the band issued the split EP Birds, Beasts, & Flowers alongside the Autumn Defense, followed the next month by the full-length Eveningland. Nettwerk put out No Word from Tom in 2006, a set of covers, rarities, outtakes, demos, and live tracks, while the same year saw the arrival of Funnel Cloud, Hem’s third studio album.
Three years afterward the musicians supplied music for a Central Park summer staging of Twelfth Night that featured Anne Hathaway, Audra McDonald, and Raúl Esparza and called for Irish instrumentals, new compositions, and atmospheric orchestral passages. Several months later the cast joined Hem in the studio; the resulting album appeared in October 2009. Though issued under the band’s name, Twelfth Night was fundamentally a traditional Celtic collection performed by film and stage actors, with Hem functioning as sidemen. After a lengthy separation the members reconvened in a studio during 2012 and returned in spring 2013 with Departure and Farewell on Nettwerk.
Albums
Singles
