Iron & Wine
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| Iron & Wine | |
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 Beam at a 2006 concert at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Samuel Beam |
| Born | South Carolina |
| Genre(s) | Folk rock Singer-songwriter Indie folk |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar, Banjo |
| Label(s) | Sub Pop Records |
Iron & Wine is the stage and recording name of folk rock singer-songwriter, Samuel Beam. He has released three studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). Beam was raised in South Carolina before moving to Florida to attend school, but now resides outside of Austin, Texas. The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store while shooting a film.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Beam was born July 26, 1974. He was raised outside Columbia, South Carolina, where his father worked in land management and his mother was a schoolteacher. When he was a child, his family took regular trips to the country where his grandfather ran a farm.
Beam graduated from the Florida State University Film School with an MFA degree. Until the first Iron & Wine album, Beam's main source of income was as a professor of film and cinematography at the University of Miami and Miami International University of Art & Design.[2] He had been writing songs for over seven years before a friend lent him a four-track recorder. His friends handed out copies of demos that he had made, and the owner of Sub Pop Records personally contacted Beam and proposed a deal.[citation needed]
[edit] Musical career
Beam released his first Iron & Wine album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, on the Sub Pop label in 2002. Beam wrote, performed, recorded and produced the album in his home studio. Featuring acoustic guitars, banjo, and slide guitar, the album's music has been compared to that of Nick Drake,[3] Simon and Garfunkel,[4] Neil Young, Elliott Smith, and John Fahey. The debut album was followed in 2003 by The Sea & The Rhythm, an EP containing other home-recorded tracks with a similar style to the songs on the debut.
Beam's second album, Our Endless Numbered Days (2004), was recorded in a professional studio with a significant increase in fidelity. Produced in Chicago by Brian Deck, the focus was still on acoustic material, but the inclusion of other band members gave rise to a slightly different sound. That same year, Beam recorded the song "The Trapeze Swinger" for the film In Good Company.
In February 2005, Beam released an EP titled Woman King, which expanded on the sounds of his previous LP and added electric guitars. Each track featured a spiritual female figure and had subtle Biblical undertones.
The EP In the Reins, a collaboration with the Arizona-based rock band Calexico, was released in September 2005. Beam wrote all of the EP's songs years earlier, but Calexico added their trademark fusion of dusty southwestern rock, traditional Mexican music and jazz to the songs' arrangements. Several tracks feature brass instruments, a first for Beam's music.
The third full-length Iron & Wine album, titled The Shepherd's Dog, was released September 25, 2007. Contributors included Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, as well as jazz musicians Matt Lux and Rob Burger.[5] When asked to describe the album to The Independent, Beam remarked that "it's not a political propaganda record, but it's definitely inspired by political confusion, because I was really taken aback when Bush got reelected."[6]
In 2002, Beam recorded a cover of The Postal Service's then-unreleased song "Such Great Heights". Rather than being included on an Iron & Wine release, the track was initially only included as a b-side of the original version by The Postal Service. In 2004, Beam's version was featured in an advertisement for M&M's and in the film Garden State and its popular soundtrack. This version was later used in a 2006 Ask.com advertisement. A single of the Iron & Wine version of "Such Great Heights" was released in 2006, backed with recordings of "The Trapeze Swinger" and "Naked As We Came" made for Radio Vienna.
Beam has released all of his music on iTunes, including several exclusive EPs. The Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP features unreleased studio recordings, including a Stereolab cover and two tracks which had previously only appeared on vinyl. The Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) EP features Beam and his sister, Sarah Beam, performing a number of tracks from his albums, as well as a cover of New Order's "Love Vigilantes". Sarah Beam has contributed backing vocals on many of Beam's studio recordings.
The Iron & Wine song "Passing Afternoon" from the album Our Endless Numbered Days was featured on House MD, season 4 episode 16 titled "Wilson's Heart" (which was the season finale) May, 2008.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002)
- Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)
- The Shepherd's Dog (2007)
[edit] EPs
- Iron & Wine Tour EP (2002)
- The Sea & The Rhythm (2003)
- Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP (2004)
- Woman King (2005)
- In the Reins with Calexico (2005)
- Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) EP (2006)
[edit] Singles
- Sub Pop Singles Club: "Call Your Boys" b/w "Dearest Forsaken" (CD + Clear 7" Vinyl) (2002)
- "No Moon" b/w "Sinning Hands" (Limited 7" Vinyl Bonus with first Pressing of Our Endless Numbered Days) (2004)
- "Passing Afternoon" (CD Only) (2004)
- "The Trapeze Swinger" (iTunes Only) (2005)
- "Such Great Heights" (UK Only CD) (2006)
- "Boy with a Coin" (CD + 10" Vinyl) (2007)
[edit] Other
- Garden State soundtrack (2004)
- In Good Company soundtrack (2004)
- Iron & Wine Live Bonnaroo (2005)
- KCRW Sounds Eclectic volume 3
- I'm Not There soundtrack (2007)
[edit] References
- ^ A childish wish for snow
- ^ Iron and Wine, Jason Ferguson, Miami New Times, April 10, 2008.
- ^ Kearney, Ryan (2002-10-02). Iron & Wine: The Creek Drank the Cradle. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2006-05-14.
- ^ Bickford, B.R. (2003-02-19). Iron & Wine: "The Creek Drank the Cradle". Salon.com. Retrieved on 2006-05-14.
- ^ Khanna, Vish (October 2007). Iron and Wine's Guiding Light. Exclaim.ca. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ Gill, Andy (2006-11-17). Sam Beam: Love, God, death and a tree of bees. The Independent.
