Shara Worden is a Detroit-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has performed under the tag of My Brightest Diamond for the last seven years. Signed to Asthmatic Kitty Records, she has been recording ever since she was a student at the University of North Texas in Denton and has released four studio albums and a couple of EP’s, her latest full length release being ‘This Is My Hand’ in 2014.
Worden’s sound is built upon an array of experimental elements including opera and cabaret, chamber music and Rock, folk and classical; all of which demonstrate her fine ability to stretch the boundaries of conventional arrangements. Her influences include the likes of Anthony and the Johnsons and Nina Nastasia and her songwriting skills combine both her interests in underground rock and the training she received in classical composition and operatic voice. She has also began exploring the realms of electronic music and this can be heard filtering through in her latest material.
Shara has also worked with David Byrne (on his concept musical “Here Lies Love”), Fat Boy Slim, Bon Iver and The Blind Boys of Alabama and spent some time touring with The Decemberists and Sufjan Stevens.
Her latest EP ‘I Had Grown Wild’ came out this May and consists of five tracks including two new original songs and a remix of the great, ‘This Is My Hand’.
Taken off this EP comes today’s song ‘Say What’ which, inspired by a poem by Stacyann Chin, also puts into words the images from Billy Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ and issues a challenge to compare and contrast the experience of black and white Americans. Beginning gradually and slowly building, this track is ushered along by a steady, jazzy beat which rises and falls gathering momentum all of the time. There is lots going on as the track nears the end but well thought out layering allows each stage to develop naturally ..
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