Damien Jurado

Born in 1972 and part of the recent history of the Seattle scene, Damien Jurado has, since the mid-1990s, developed a body of work that sits between indie folk, indie rock and lo-fi songwriting. He first released cassette recordings on his own label, Casa Recordings, before being noticed by Sub Pop, which released Waters Ave S. in 1997 and Rehearsals for Departure in 1999. Jurado’s writing favors restrained narratives, acoustic melodies and a subtle tension—sometimes darker, sometimes more electric as on I Break Chairs (2002) or Caught in the Trees (2008). After a stint with Secretly Canadian, he broadened his approach with Saint Bartlett (2010), and especially through a series of albums made in collaboration with Richard Swift, from Maraqopa (2012) to Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son (2014) and Visions of Us on the Land (2016), where his narrative folk opened up to more psychedelic and dreamlike forms. He also recorded with his brother Drake under the name Hoquiam, before maintaining a steady solo release pace with The Horizon Just Laughed (2018), In the Shape of a Storm (2019), What’s New, Tomboy? (2020), and on his own label Maraqopa Records with The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania (2021), Reggae Film Star (2022) and Sometimes You Hurt the Ones You Hate (2023).