History Ursa Minor

Envisioned, fronted and founded by New York chanteuse Michelle Casillas, Ursa Minor has become a mainstay in NYC’s indie rock scene. The band delivers a timeless mix of vocal driven pop/rock with a primal rhythmic undercurrent; sharp and urban yet broad and free. “Ursa Minor blurs the line between folk, jazz, and experimental music...with haunting, spare, even cinematic songs.”-All Music Guide. Splendid Magazine calls their songs “warm works of natural beauty…appealingly tousled” and New York’s Village Voice describes Ursa Minor’s sound as “ethereal yet concise… wrought with enunciated keens and alto murmurs, moody drum snaps and strong melodies.”

Ursa Minor’s debut LP “Silent Moving Picture” was released by Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley, on Smells like Records; a label known both for championing new artists (like Cat Power and Blonde Redhead), and for releasing comprehensive series of works by Lee Hazelwood, and Sonic Youth.

Since Ursa Minor’s acclaimed debut, Michelle has swapped her Fender Rhodes for electric guitar and her songs have a new snap in them. Her singing is startling and sexy; effortlessly rhythmic, with soulful vulnerability and a bold attitude.

Bassist Rob Jost (Imogen Heap, Wayne Horvitz, Bjork) and drummer Robert DiPietro (Norah Jones, Jesse Harris, Josh Rouse) equally create the sound, contribute songs of great depth and strength, and sing harmony, while the infamous Tony Scherr (Bill Frisell, Sexmob, Feist, Lounge Lizards) brings a sonic lightning with his electric guitars.

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