Amy Denio is an American composer of soundtracks for modern dance, film, and theatre. She is also a vocalist (with a four-octave vocal range), songwriter, reed player, multi-instrumentalist, improviser, and audio engineer who has been a home taper since high school, based in Hansville, Washington. She founded her own record label and publishing company, Spoot Music, and is known for her bands The Tiptons Sax Quartet and the Balkan gypsy-metal-punk Kultur Shock, and her collaborations with Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Guy Klucevsek, Pauline Oliveros, Derek Bailey, and Chuck D, among many others.
In 2010, Denio released on her own label, TUTTO BENE (Canzoni sulla Fisa), a compilation of twenty accordion-driven commissions and sonic adventures, played solo and in collaboration with musical cohorts from Switzerland, Austria, the United Kingdom, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and America.
Denio says that Tutto Bene Volume II is a kaleidoscopic collection of her «favourite new accordion-driven hits into one fabulous sonic adventure to feed your hungry ears!». Most of the pieces feature her playing solo at different studios and locations, but on the Latin-tinged, sensual dance piece, «Trifekta», she leads the Jovino Santos Neto Quintetto, and on «Crow Totem», she leads a trio inspired by the fiery spirit of graphic novelist, poet, artist, and free spirit Noel Franklin, chanting peaceful spells.
As can be expected, this is an adventurous, versatile, and genre-binding sonic journey that weaves jazz, avant-garde, world music, experimental soundscapes, and captivating stories. These joyful songs imagine a better world with no real geographical or cultural borders, or at least one where Denio would be served breakfast in bed, as suggested in the song «Darling, Please Don’t Wake Me».
Eyal Hareuveni
Amy Denio (accordion, vocals, electric guitar, electric bass, percussion, field recordings, Abelton programming), Ben Thomas (bandoneon), Max Holmberg (drums), Tim Carey (bass), Jeff Busch (percussion), Jovino Santos Neto (piano), Steve Kirk (guitar, bass, precussion), Tara Ford (voice; piano, violin, hammered dulcimer)
