CocoRosie
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Sierra (left) and Bianca (right) |
CocoRosie are an American
duet that formed in
2003. Stylistically they may be assigned to the
indie rock,
psych folk genres, and are sometimes associated with the
New Weird America movement, along with hip hop influences. Sierra plays the
guitar, the
flute, and leads vocals. Bianca is a
percussionist and also
beatboxes. They were active for most of
2004, playing dates across the
U.S. and making several trips to
Europe for tours playing with
TV on the Radio,
Bright Eyes,
Devendra Banhart and others.
Growing Up
Sierra and Bianca Casady are American half-
Cherokee sisters. Sierra (nicknamed "Rosie" by her mother) was the oldest of the two and born in
Iowa. Bianca (nicknamed "Coco" by her mother) was born in
Hawaii.
Their mother, a teacher and artist, would compulsively move the girls across the country from one state to another. Their
estranged father travelled around the US teaching in
Steiner Waldorf schools, and was involved in
Shamanism and
Peyote Religion. Sierra and Bianca spent their summers hiking from
reservation to reservation with their father.
When Sierra was 5 years old and Bianca 3, their parents divorced. Sierra and Bianca did not get along very well growing up.
At age 14, Sierra was kicked out of her mother's house, and sent to boarding school by her father. During this period in her life, Sierra lost contact with her sister. She changed schools practically every year.
In 2000, at age 20, Sierra moved into a tiny apartment in the
Montmartre district in
Paris,
France to pursue a career as an
Opera singer, studying at the
Paris Conservatory.
During this period, Bianca studied
linguistics and
sociology, and pursued her passion of visual arts and writing. She also managed to collect a variety of tattoos, and was known to attend "
Kill Whitey" parties in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Birth of CocoRosie
In 2003, Bianca was growing restless and decided it was time for a change. She left her apartment in
Brooklyn,
New York and decided to travel the world. Unexpectedly, Bianca showed up at Sierra's apartment in Paris. It had been nearly a
decade since the two last saw each other.
Over the course of the two months, the sisters practically locked themselves in Sierra's bathroom, chosen by the two as the most acoustic and isolated room in the apartment. After a month of experimenting in the bathtub and rarely leaving the apartment, they had completed their
debut album
La Maison de Mon Rêve. The album included sounds from many toys purchased in their neighborhood.
"La Maison de Mon Rêve" was never originally intended to be distributed outside of a close circle of friends, however by
2004 the lo-fi album was released under independent label
Touch and Go Records who had received a copy of the CD, and in a rare case pursued signing the unsolicited artists. Since the creation of their first album, the two have been practically inseparable.
Currently
Bianca (age 23), and Sierra (age 25) share an apartment in Brooklyn, New York. Sierra has since started a new band "
Metallic Falcons" with friend
Matteah Baim, which is currently signed under a new label started by Bianca with the help of business partner
Melissa Shimkovitz called "
Voodoo Eros Records".
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La Maison de Mon Rêve (Touch and Go/Quarterstick Records
2004)
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Beautiful Boyz (Touch and Go/Quarterstick Records
2004)
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Noah's Ark (Touch and Go/Quarterstick Records
2005)
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CocoRosie Official Website*
Touch and Go/Quarterstick Records record label page, includes images, bio, discography, tour dates .etc
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3 extracts of a concert in 2005
