Josephine Foster

Born in Colorado, Josephine Foster initially develops her voice within a religious setting before moving to Chicago in the late 1990s to study lyric singing, a path that illuminates the unique place of her music between folk, art song, discreet psychedelia and experimental writing. Josephine Foster records homemade discs early on, then releases her first albums in the early 2000s, while participating in several collective projects of the Chicago independent scene, notably with The Children’s Hour, Born Heller and The Supposed. Her repertoire blends guitar, piano, organ or harp with a vocal approach that draws as much on American folk traditions as on the lied and on ancient forms. Among her discographic landmarks are Hazel Eyes, I Will Lead You (2005), A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2006), a collection of 19th-century German lieder revisited, This Coming Gladness (2008), Graphic as a Star (2009), built from Emily Dickinson’s poems, as well as Blood Rushing (2012), I’m a Dreamer (2017), Faithful Fairy Harmony (2019), Godmother (2022) and Domestic Sphere (2023). Having settled for a time in Spain, Josephine Foster also developed collaborative work with Victor Herrero within Mendrugo, incorporating Spanish texts into her universe.