Nationality American Name Dana Countryman | Role Music performer | |
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Born November 11, 1954 ( 1954-11-11 ) Mount Vernon, Wash., USA Occupation Musician, composer, publisher Albums The Happy Electropop Music Machine!, Moog-Tastic: Electronic Melodies from the 24th Century, Destination Space Similar People Jean‑Jacques Perrey, Perrey and Kingsley, Skip Heller, Gershon Kingsley, Vinnie Bell | ||
Dana Countryman is an American electronic music composer and performer notable for his sustained presence in the Seattle Pop scene as well as his collaborations with French electropop artist Jean-Jacques Perrey. He is also well known as songwriter and performer for The Amazing Pink Things (1985–1991). as well as the publisher for Cool and Strange Music Magazine (1996–2003).
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Early life
Countryman was born in Mount Vernon, Washington.
Career
Countryman performed with numerous bands and became a songwriter and performer with the group Amazing Pink Things. The group performed with "garish costumes" and was described as a "musical comedy quartet". The group featured two men and two women doing satirical songs with smooth harmonies somewhat similar to the Manhattan Transfer but without the jazz leanings. Music critic Karen Mathieson in The Seattle Times described the Pink Things as "well-matched vocally." During the years 1996 to 2003, Countryman published a fanzine entitled Cool and Strange Music Magazine."
Collaborations with Jean-Jacques Perrey
In 1971 Countryman was first exposed to the music of Jean-Jacques Perrey and became "obsessed", according to one account. He was drawn to Perrey's ability to convey the "feeling of happiness and downright joy" in his music. In 1994, Countryman contacted Perrey to do an interview for his publication, and the two became acquainted.
In 2003, Countryman first collaborated with Perrey. Perrey flew to Countryman's studio in Everett, Washington which was described by a reporter as an "analog-synth wonderland." They finished songwriting and mixing their music partly by collaboration over the Internet. They created several albums including The Happy Electro-Pop Music Machine as well as a second album based on "classic spy themes." Reviewer Skylaire Alfvegren in the Los Angeles Examiner found their album Destination Space to be a "more sophisticated understanding of the type of folk drawn to electronic music". The album had "mewling kittens", harpsichords, "bubbly dementia", "astronaut patter" which "flies through the musical cosmos," according to the reviewer. When performing with Perrey, Countryman "spun dials, twisted knobs, and pressed buttons to produce a sweet rush of sugary, sci-fi melodies" and which had a "synthesized, surreal sheen." The album also produced the single "Chicken on the Rocks," which became an underground hit and was featured on an episode of the American Sitcom South Park, Medicinal Fried Chicken.
Current Work
2013 saw the release of Pop! The Incredible, Fantastic Retro Pop World of Dana Countryman, an album of songs written in the style of 1960s vocal pop.
Discography
Dana Countryman:
(Recorded at age 16, and released under the name The Cincinnati Ice Cream Factory Explosion Relief Committee, 1971. SAYS Records, 36980.) (out of print)
As a member of The Amazing Pink Things:
Dana Countryman:
Jean-Jacques Perrey and Dana Countryman:
Tricia and Dana Countryman: