Joshua Marcus

When Joshua Marcus performs, people really do stop and listen ... the whole set long. As both a solo artist or with his group, Marcus' astonishingly honest and powerful songwriting is steeped in Appalachian tradition and pre-AAA folk innovation, as well as hip-hop and math rock. Yes! At the heart of his songs is the simple beauty and subtlety of a great melody. The strengths of Marcus' songs and live performance have led to increasing appreciation and critical acclaim, an ever growing audience, and most importantly, Marcus' own desire to engage and interact with his crowds.

His latest ep, Uke Yr Illusion, is a collection of six arrangements built around simple ukulele tunes. Uke Yr is a refreshing return to simpler songs for Marcus, after a few years performing the complexities of Reverse the Charges and seriousness of This Land on the banjo. As always, expect a peppering of crafty lyrics and syllabic phrasings, as well as a handful of Joshua's friends to flush out these tunes.

Also be sure to listen to Reverse the Charges, a co-release from Contraphonic and Philadelphia's High Two Recordings, as Joshua Marcus elevates all of the high points of his solo debut make/believe and confidently enlarges the scope and range of his songbook. On make/believe, Marcus collaborated with a dozen Philadelphia musicians within his community; for Reverse the Charges, Marcus broadened that community by setting out to record in various locales in various States, employing the services of just the right artists for just the right song. Marcus traveled the East Coast and Mid-West, working with over four-dozen musical friends and family, including artists such as Jack Ohly (bass), Amy Pickard (vocals), Megan Williams (violin) and members of The Lesser Birds of Paradise, Joy, and Red Heart the Ticker.

Marcus' traveling recording process informed many of the songs themselves. The end result is a beautiful enhancing of his musical palette and reach, while still retaining the musical elements that make him unique -- the lilting banjo, heartbreaking harmonies, sly lyrical phrasing. Reverse the Charges is Joshua Marcus' most musically moving and lyrically powerful recording to date. It marks him as one of the most engaging folk songwriters today, and a statement from an artist that has figured out what he wants to say and just how to fit it to tune.

Upcoming Shows

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Downloads / URLs

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"So Low So Love So Long" (mp3)
"Coal or Smoke" (mp3)
"yr directions from (Live)" (video)
"Breathe Easy (Live)" (video)
www.joshuamarcus.com
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  • Available now in the ContraStore in MP3 format.
    Uke Yr Illusion. CON 088. Released: 08.02.11
    Tracklisting: Lay Yr Hounds / Blood/Under/Over / # of Bees / Yr Directions From / Pause to Eat Ice Cream or Something / This Time
  • Available now in the ContraStore in CD and MP3 format.
    This Land: an environmental justice folk recording. CON 080. Released: 10.06.09
    Tracklisting: Lois Gibbs Interview / Buried at the Love Canal / Larry Gibson Interview / I Looked for the Mountain / Michelle Hurd Riddick Interview / The Floodplain is Now a Hazardous Wasteland / Margaret Williams Interview / Collecting Pennies for the Promise / Sheila Holt Orsted Interview / Poison in the Well / Frances Whittington Interview / Invisible City
  • Available now in the ContraStore in CD and MP3 format.
    Reverse the Charges. CON 068. Released: 05.13.08
    Tracklisting: Part In It / So Low So Love So Long / Oh Metal Bird / A Whale Wash Out / Business As Usual / To Keep / River (To Hold) / What We Find is Gone / For You Two, To Us All / Lay Me Down / Breathe Easy / The Tiny Wonder Song
  • Available now in the ContraStore in CD format.
    make/believe. CON 062. Released: 04.10.07
    Tracklisting: The Calm and the Storm / Nostrils Break or Create Silence / Shiny or Sharp Rocks / Coal or Smoke / Man Threatening Pipe Wrench / This House or This House / Change is a slow Constant / Ooh
    Utilising banjo, guitar, mandolin, upright bass, violin and occasional harmonica and with no percussion, while there's an undeniably old-timey influence at play, there's no denying Marcus' contemporary resonance either - the song titles perhaps the biggest giveaway - 'Nostrils Break Or Create Silence' - unlikely to be found on a Carter Family anthology. One to watch for, much like Sufjan Stevens, Joshua Marcus has appropriated and simultaneously updated some of America's oldest musical styles and consequently should find appeal with both open minded traditional audiences as well as today's more left-field palates. LEICESTER BANGS, UK

    ...a perfect companion for the misty, rolling hills, wide-open spaces, and small towns of Virginia. Make/Believe [Contraphonic] is Mr. Marcus' latest effort; simply packaged in a plain cardboard sleeve with gorgeous artwork, this album seems unassuming--but looks can be deceiving. The album begins with a roll of thunder, and sets the tone for the songs to come, hushed yet gathering steam as it progresses. Quiet, sparse banjo provides simple finger-plucked melodies, metallic and fragile, bolstered by gorgeous, lilting harmonies. Joshua's voice is sweetly open, endearingly warm and wavery; it fashions these spartan folk songs into something powerfully intimate, like quiet rocking chair-style ruminations about the coming and going of everyday existence and finding wonder in the ordinary. "We all like patterns and motion/And can hear the congestion from a mile away/Count the quiet life on one hand with little fingers." (The Calm and The Storm) SLIGHTLY CONFUSING TO A STRANGER

    It's for one of those weekend mornings where you wake up to the rain hitting your windowpane, and you make the conscious decision not to get out of bed. The CD also is a near perfect marriage of old-time folk traditions with indie-rock sensibilities. The acoustic instrumentation, mournful melodies and the tight, weaving harmonies are reminiscent of Appalachian gospel music and The Carter Family. But Marcus' lyrics are thoroughly modern and impressionistic, with song titles such as Nostrils Break or Create Silence and Man Threatening Pipe Wrench. PORT-TIMES HERALD