Sibylle Baier

Sybille Baier's is a most unlikely and endearing story. This melancholic singer never played in coffeehouses or clubs in hopes she might win fans or catch the eye of a big-name producer. In fact, she never played anywhere. She was a mother and former actress who recorded a batch of original songs on a reel-to-reel tape in her home after a particularly emotional period in her life inspired her to try expressing herself with songwriting for the first time. For over 30 years the recording remained in Baier's family until a copy found its way into the hands, oddly, of Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis. His influence (not to mention the elegance of the recording) convinced a small art collective in Athens, Ga., to release it in 2006. Baier writes intimately and candidly of the events of her daily life and reveals profound emotion through these ordinary episodes. Her art, much like that of the poet Emily Dickenson, was never intended for wide audiences and, unwittingly, found its way into the light. Ultimately her lone album, Colour Green, is witness to the idea that mankind is musical; that one need not be a professional to make songs that are beautiful and moving.