Noah Kite’s unique brand of experimental chamber folk is a synergy of sound that draws on expert musicianship and collaboration. Like many artists, Kite came to the guitar as a teenager.
“It turned out I had a knack for noodling,” Kite reflects. “It was a sort of teenage meditation, to sit in my room and let my fingers venture while my mind hummed. This raw engagement was slowly tempered in many bands throughout my teens.” However, he found himself moving from band to band, yearning for bandmates who were less “drug addled” and more “music focused.”
Still, Kite’s meditative writing style continuously evolved. Heartbreak came from a “love stretched across continents,” spurring Kite to learn how to process his emotions through songwriting. Teaching and travel led to an appreciation of the complexities of our modern day world, gained after spending time in France shortly after the shootings at Charlie Hebdo. Each of these single experiences culminating in the “dynamically orchestrated” dramatic performance style that he tours behind today.
The song “Corvallis” weaves Kite’s guitar and voice with expansive and emotive accompaniment from Laura Gershman on oboe, Jessica Paul on alto sax, and Colin Corner (principal bassist for the Oregon Symphony) on upright bass. What results is a dynamic and spellbinding performance that feels more like the soundtrack to a movie than a single track.
So what is it like now that he has found a home with musicians as focused as he? “Effortless,” he says. Each person crafts their parts in just the right way. “['Corvallis'] was one of the first we finished as a group,” Kite adds. “Colin almost immediately came up with that bass riff, Laura already had a working oboe line, and Jessica can craft sweet, improvised solos with ease.”
Take a gander to see what happens when it “all just gel[s].”
