Linda Perhacs (born 1943) is an American

psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music. Chara ...

singer, who released her first album, '' Parallelograms'', in 1970 to scant notice or sales. The album was rediscovered by record enthusiasts and reissued numerous times beginning in 1998, growing in popularity with the rise of the

New Weird America New Weird America is a 21st century style of music that primarily draws on psychedelic and folk music of the 1960s and 1970s. Etymology The term was coined by David Keenan in the issue 234 (August 2003) of ''The Wire'', following the Brattlebo ...

movement and the Internet. In 2014, she released a second album titled ''

The Soul of All Natural Things ''The Soul of All Natural Things'' is the second studio album by American singer Linda Perhacs, released by Asthmatic Kitty Records in 2014. Produced by Chris Price and Fernando Perdomo, the album was released 44 years after her debut album ''Pa ...

'', and a third, '' I'm A Harmony'', in 2017.

Biography

Perhacs was born Linda Arnold in 1943 in

Mill Valley, California Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

."United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch (23 May 2014), Linda Jeanne Perhacs, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information. In the late 1960s, Perhacs relocated to

Topanga Canyon Topanga () (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow s ...

, and was working as a dental hygienist in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

under a former professor she had met while a student at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. In her spare time, she wrote songs. One of her dental clients, Oscar-winning film composer

Leonard Rosenman Leonard Rosenman (September 7, 1924 – March 4, 2008) was an American film, television and concert composer with credits in over 130 works, including ''East of Eden (film), East of Eden'', ''Rebel without a Cause'', ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Ho ...

, was impressed by one of her demos and brought her into a studio during 1969–1970, producing her first album, '' Parallelograms''. When the album failed to make an impression, she returned to her dental career. Michael Piper of folk label the Wild Places, who had first reissued the album in 1998 sourced from the LP, located and contacted Perhacs in 2000, leading to expanded reissues of ''Parallelograms'' on CD and vinyl in 2003, sourced from tapes in Perhacs' personal collection. It was reissued again by Sunbeam Records in 2008, by both

Mexican Summer Mexican Summer is an independent record label founded in 2009 by Keith Abrahamsson and Andres Santo Domingo. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the label has released recordings from artists including Best Coast, Kurt Vile, Ariel Pink, Allah-Las, Weye ...

and

Sundazed Records Sundazed Music is an American independent record label based in Coxsackie, New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio ...

in 2010, and by Anthology Recordings in 2014. Following her rediscovery and the reissues, Perhacs returned to recording, and recorded her second album in 2012 and 2013 with producers Chris Price and

Fernando Perdomo Fernando Jose Perdomo (born August 17, 1980) is an American musician best known for his work as a producer and session bassist and guitarist. Career Fernando started his career as a session guitar player after playing in Miami Bands, Avenging ...

and collaborators including

Julia Holter Julia Shammas Holter (born December 18, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, artist and academic, based in Los Angeles. Following three independent album productions, Holter released ''Tragedy'' as her first official ...

and Ramona Gonzalez of

Nite Jewel Ramona Gonzalez (known professionally as Nite Jewel) is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Biography Ramona Gonzalez began as Nite Jewel in 2008 as the result of her juggling music with undergraduate studies.

. ''

'' was released on March 4, 2014 by

Asthmatic Kitty Records Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, coug ...

. Her songs have been prominently

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

, including "Chimacum Rain" (by

Prefuse 73 Guillermo Scott Herren is an American producer who has been based in Atlanta, Barcelona and New York City. Herren releases music under the aliases Prefuse 73, Delarosa & Asora, Ahmad Szabo, and Piano Overlord, and is also part of the groups Sa ...

for the track "Rain Edit (Interlude)" from the 2005 album '' Surrounded by Silence'', and by

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with Bad ...

for his song "Rain", released on his 2015 "

Top 5 Dead or Alive ''Top 5 Dead or Alive'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Jadakiss. The album was released on November 20, 2015, by D-Block Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album features guest appearances from Akon, Future, Jeez ...

" album) and "Hey, Who Really Cares" (by UK

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

artist

Lowkey Kareem Dennis (born 23 May 1986), better known by his stage name Lowkey, is a British rapper and activist from London. He first became known through a series of mixtapes he released before he was 18, before taking a hiatus from the music busi ...

in his song "Who Really Cares", from his 2009 compilation album ''Uncensored''). In 2007, her song "If You Were My Man" was featured on the soundtrack for the film ''

Daft Punk's Electroma ''Daft Punk's Electroma'' (also known as ''Electroma'') is a 2006 avant-garde science fiction film directed by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk. The story revolves around the quest of two robots (the band members, played by Peter Hurteau ...

''. An interview she did with BBC in 2005 was also sampled for bloodbath64's song "Beautiful Horses". Perhacs has made several guest appearances on other recordings. She sang backing vocals on "Freely" from Devendra Banhart's ''

Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon ''Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon'' is a Devendra Banhart album released September 25, 2007. This album features more instrumentation than the previous records, as well as more genre experimentation. ''Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon'' was rec ...

'' (2007), and sang on and cowrote the song "You Wash My Soul" on Mark Pritchard's album ''Under the Sun'' (2016). In March 2016, Perhacs released a new single, "The Dancer", as a preview for her third album. In May 2016, her song "River of God" (from ''The Soul of All Natural Things'') was selected by

Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

for use in a commercial for their Lands' End Canvas line. Perhacs' third album, ''I'm a Harmony'', was released September 22, 2017 on

Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...

. Co-produced by Perhacs, Perdomo and

Pat Sansone Patrick Anthony "Pat" Sansone (born June 21, 1969) is an American multi-instrumentalist in the rock bands Wilco and The Autumn Defense. Early bands Sansone was born in Meridian, Mississippi. Upon entering college at The University of Souther ...

(of

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

and

the Autumn Defense The Autumn Defense is an American indie rock band composed of multi-instrumentalists John Stirratt and Pat Sansone. History The Autumn Defense began as a side project for John Stirratt, best known for his work as bassist for alt-country bands Wi ...

), it features collaborations with artists including Banhart, Pritchard, Holter,

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex Cline, Alex, a percussionis ...

and

Durga McBroom Durga McBroom is an American singer who has performed backing vocals for Pink Floyd and is a member of the house music band Blue Pearl, best known for their hit single " Naked in the Rain". She works as an actress, dancer, and singer in the Unit ...

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Parallelograms'' (1970,

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

) *''

'' (2014,

) *''I'm a Harmony'' (2017,

)

Singles

*"Children" promo CD single (2014, Asthmatic Kitty Records) *"The Dancer" digital single (2016, self-released)

References

External links

Official siteOct 2009 Interview with Daiana FeuerArcane Candy gallery and review of Linda's first-ever live showThe Dental Hygienist Who Wrote Music History. An interview with Linda Perhacs
Video by

Louisiana Channel Louisiana Channel is a non-profit web-TV channel based at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek, Denmark. By the end of the first year, 28 November 2013, Louisiana Channel had published 130 videos featuring international artists, film m ...

February 23, 2014 interview on NPR's Morning Edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perhacs, Linda 1943 births American folk musicians American women singer-songwriters Living people Asthmatic Kitty artists Kapp Records artists Omnivore Recordings artists Singer-songwriters from California University of Southern California alumni 21st-century American women