The Microphones
Biography
The Microphones was the solo project of American musician Phil Elverum from 1996 to 2003, with comebacks in 2007 and 2019 to 2022 respectively. Hailing from northern Washington State, The Microphones's sound is best described as lo-fi "fuzz folk," including drum-crashing, bass-thrashing sonic freakouts, strummy classical guitar love songs, angelic vocal choirs, and almost-whispered vocals over harmoniums and bell kits.
In 2004, Elverum abandoned the "Microphones" name to begin recording as Mount Eerie, briefly returning in December 2007 when he began selling a new 7" single by the Microphones ("Don't Smoke" / "Get Off the Internet") on his website and at concerts.
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The tragic early death of Phil's wife Geneviève Castrée (1981-2016), marked a serious point in Phil's career. He released a tribute album to her in 2017, titled A Crow Looked At Me, under the Mount Eerie name. This has become one of his most commercially successful works.
In 2020, Elverum returned to the Microphones name once more to release the project's 14th album Microphones in 2020. Microphones members/collaborators include Karl Blau, Dennis Driscoll, Kyle Field aka Little Wings, Mirah, Khaela Maricich aka The Blow, Adrian Orange aka Thanksgiving, Adam Forkner and K Records' founder, Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and the Halo Benders.
He has continued to release on Mount Eerie into the 2020s.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.