steph modder
Arlington, Virginia, United States | SELF
Music
Press
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What makes the stunning debut album "Hope's Got Me" by Steph Modder so special? Is it because she is the protégée of Michael Pritzl (The Violet Burning) or because of the beautiful acoustic ballads, or because the title track has a special story? Just all in a row: Pritzl produced the CD, did the shooting and playing different instruments like guitars, mellotron, bass, percussions etc. The song "The One Thing" is a pretty unlikely duet of Steph and Michael (in VB style) . (Ex) The members of V.B. play along on this album: Lenny Beh (violin and drums) and Jason Lord Mize impressive piano playing on "Not Ready". Steph Modder, herself, wrote the lyrics and music of most (10) songs on this album. Her lyrics are contradictory, they are complaining about and appear simultaneously all victories. The (weathered) numbers are particularly sensitive and performed in enchanting melodies, interspersed with thrilling guitar solos. Pritzl wrote the song "This All Leads To You." The story behind the title track [Hope's Got Me]: Steph, a native Westerner began her musical career in the coffee houses and clubs in Minneapolis as a background singer and violinist with bands like The Nina The Pinta and Santa Maria (now Greycoats). She went over to the DC music scene and [found] success there. She had a tumor in her throat and the doctors had to surgically remove it. There was a high probability that her nerves would be damaged and she never could sing. During this period she wrote the wonderful song "Hope's Got Me". And she still can sing very beautifully, proving them to this excellent and captivating debut CD. - Signs Magazine (Netherlands)
http://www.bread.org/get-involved/on-the-web/breadcast/archives.html?page=2 - Bread For the World Breadcast
Leigh Nash from Sixpence None the Richer is my favorite female vocalist. I love her. On my first listen of Hope's Got Me, Steph Modder entered my top 5. Produced by Michael Pritzl of the Violet Burning, Hope's Got Me is a journey through love and pain and into hope.
The record moves from high to low (mostly low) as Steph sings about finding her way out of pain and into something better. The production on Pritzl's part is done marvelously, with instrumentation being just enough to compliment Steph's vocal and guitar work. The only track on the album that bugs me is "The One Thing" featuring Pritzl on vocals. It stands out as the "rock" track on the album and in terms of flow doesn't seem to fit where it's placed on the album (second track between the beautifully understated "Come Away" and a heart wrenching "This All Leads to You"). Maybe different placement would've helped this song. (It is my girlfriends favorite song on the album so maybe I'm wrong)
The record has a handful of great songs (This All Leads to You, Not Ready, Stay Oh Stay, Hopes Got Me) and only one (in my opinion) skip.
Hope's Got Me, the albums closer is the light at the end of the tunnel. The album as a whole is moving towards something more, towards a finish. Hope's Got Me is the turning the corner song. That this isn't the end but a brand new beginning. Where David Bazan would've ended with a track about death and destruction, Steph Modder ends with Hope, with something new on the horizon. Life has turned around.
This album is a journey a book, about love, pain, redemption, and hope. Pour a glass of wine and enjoy. I look forward to better and bigger things from Steph Modder.
- Patton On Music
Discography
Hope's Got Me LP (2009)
Photos
Bio
Steph Modder is one of those artists who was born to be on stage. A talented songwriter and uniquely gifted vocalist, the music that flows from her runs deep, not only in her soul, but in her ancestry. Before she could talk, she cut her teeth on the a cappella sounds of her parent’s traveling music groups of the 1960's, the country folk songs of a barn dance band and carnival circuit touring grandmother of the 1930’s and the timeless symphonic pieces by a grandmother who was a classical violist in the 1920’s- all of whom helped round out Steph's eclectic musical upbringing. With piano, violin, guitar and her own gilded voice she brings the tributaries of this eclectic history together into a raging river of soul and sound. Her music is reminiscent of many old time folk and country greats...deep, soulful, rich... and insightful beyond her years.
After getting her start performing her own music in the clubs and coffehouses of Minneapolis, a move to Washington, D.C in 2001 opened up many new musical relationships and venues for Steph. She played hundreds of gigs, as a solo artist and as part of a number of side projects and bands, but she hesitated to do what she knew she should...put out an album. She had years of material, and constant requests, but it took more than that for the long awaited record to come to fruition. After a medical scare threatened to steal her voice and end her career as vocalist, she decided to pull together the years of songs she had written and make the solo album she had put off for years. The fear of being silenced for good strengthened her determination to have her music heard and tangible. It would be her Opus. Fortunately for Steph, and for her fans, a skilled surgeon saved her voice, and the project that was birthed from her brush with devastation is a true standout. A collaboration with veteran producer/performer Michael Pritzl (The Violet Burning) her debut album, Hope's Got Me, with its honest lyrics and rich melodies , is a haunting and profound collection of songs that look at uncertainty, love, faith, and of course hope, from a girl who had nothing to lose.
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