Biography
Alison Sudol (born December 23, 1984 in Seattle, Washington, USA), known professionally as A Fine Frenzy (formerly Alison Monro) is an American alternative singer and songwriter and pianist. Her debut album, One Cell in the Sea, was released on July 17, 2007, and peaked at number 91 on the Billboard 200 chart. She has been in the charts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland and France, amongst other countries. Her music has been featured on television shows, an on the soundtrack of the film Sleepwalking.
Sudol had a passion for literature, and immersed herself in the works of C. S. Lewis, E.B. White, Lewis Carroll, Anthony Trollope and Charles Dickens. Her artist name, “A Fine Frenzy”, is taken from a verse in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theseus, Act 5, Scene 1 – “The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven”). She became an author in her own right, and after teaching herself to play the piano, began putting her creative energy into writing songs.
The short demo she sent out received attention from EMI’s Jason Flom, who signed her after visiting her house and listening to her play.
Artistic influences
Born in Seattle, Washington to two dramatic arts teachers, Sudol and her mother moved to Los Angeles after her parents divorced when she was five years old. She grew up listening to a wide range of music, including Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, swing, jazz, The Beatles, Motown.
Inspired by
Sudol has often referred to the literary influences on her music. In an interview she described her debut album as “Sort of like the soundtrack to a fairytale.” More recently she has disclosed that she is also pursuing a secondary career as a writer. In an interview she said she was writing a children’s story in the “Narnia” tradition, a fantasy featuring animals.
Stories behind songs
The minnow & the trout
This song contains the verse which gave the name to the album “One cell in the sea”. Alison told in an interview “To me it’s that idea that no matter how different from one another we are, there is some common thing that unites us.”
Discography
One Cell in the Sea (2007)
1. Come On, Come Out
2. The Minnow & The Trout
3. Whisper
4. You Picked Me
5. Rangers
6. Almost Lover
7. Think of You
8. Ashes and Wine
9. Liar, Liar
10. Last of Days
11. Lifesize
12. Near to You
13. Hope for the Hopeless
14. Borrowed Time
Bomb in a Birdcage (2009)
1. What I Wouldn’t Do
2. New Heights
3. Electric Twist
4. Blow Away
5. Happier
6. Swan Song
7. Elements
8. World Without
9. Bird Of The Summer
10. Stood Up
11. Beacon
Where you can buy the music
One cell in the sea (at Amazon.com)
Bomb in a birdcage (at Amazon.com)
