Torres (musician)
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Mackenzie Ruth Scott (born January 23, 1991) is an American
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
singer-songwriter who performs as Torres.


Early life

Scott was born in
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
, United States, and adopted at birth. From the age of three, she was raised in
Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...
. Brought up in a conservative Christian home, Scott was the youngest of three. At an early age, Scott learned how to play the flute and piano and sang in the children's choir at her Baptist church. Through ''The Phantom of the Opera'', Scott soon became interested in musical theatre. She started singing in her high school's musical production of ''
Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...
''. She began to perform in musicals, learned to play guitar, and started playing and singing hymns during church services and at a nursing home every week. After high school, Scott moved to
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
to attend
Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...
, where she received a degree in songwriting and a minor in English literature. In college, Scott began to record her music. She graduated in December 2012.


Career


''Torres'' (2012–2014)

In July 2012, while she was still a student, Scott recorded her debut album ''
Torres Torres may refer to: People *Torres (surname), a Spanish and Portuguese surname *Torres (musician), singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott **Torres (album), ''Torres'' (album), 2013 self-titled album by Torres Places Americas *Torres, Colorado, an un ...
'' over a five-day session at
Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit "Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ma ...
's home studio in
Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...
with engineer and producer Ryan McFadden. Following the album's release on February 8, 2013, she played her debut show as Torres in Nashville at The Basement. The album was digitally released on January 22, 2013 and received critical acclaim. In the summer of 2013, she moved to
Bushwick, Brooklyn Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...
. Scott has toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe with a wide variety of musicians, including Lady Lamb the Beekeeper,
Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...
,
Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums, the latest of which is '' We've Been Going About This All Wrong'' (2022). Early life Van Etten was born in Belleville, N ...
, and
Hamilton Leithauser James Hamilton Leithauser (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. From 2000 to 2014, he was the lead vocalist of the American indie rock band The Walkmen, with whom he recorded seven studio albums. Prior ...
. Scott appeared as a guest on
Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums, the latest of which is '' We've Been Going About This All Wrong'' (2022). Early life Van Etten was born in Belleville, N ...
's 2014 album ''
Are We There ''Are We There'' is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. It was released on May 27, 2014 via Jagjaguwar. Packaging Of the lack of a question mark in the album's title, Van Etten said it was "… open ...
'' and released a single, "New Skin," through
Weathervane Music Weathervane Music is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Background Weathervane Music was founded in 2009 by record producer Brian McTear and his friend Bill Robertson. In an interview with ''The Philadel ...
in June 2014.


''Sprinter'' (2015–2016)

Scott released her second album '' Sprinter'' on May 5, 2015 through
Partisan Records Partisan Records is an independent record label with offices in London and Los Angeles, as well as in New York City, where the company was co-founded in 2007 by Tim Putnam and Ian Wheeler. The label, initially run out of Putnam’s South Brooklyn ...
. Unlike ''Torres'', which was produced in Nashville, ''Sprinter'' was recorded in Dorset, England and produced by Rob Ellis. Scott described ''Sprinter'' as "something that would feel massive and heavy" with electronic elements, deliberate guitars and languid arrangements. She toured the U.S. and Europe as a headliner behind this album. She also opened for
Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...
and
Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...
, her early musical idol, in 2015, and joined
Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumental ...
for their November 2016 tour.


''Three Futures'' (2017)

Scott's third album ''
Three Futures ''Three Futures'' is the third studio album by Torres (née Mackenzie Scott), released on September 29, 2017, on 4AD Records. The album was recorded in England. As with Torres' last album '' Sprinter'', ''Three Futures'' was produced by Rob Eli ...
'' was released on September 29, 2017. It was once again produced by Rob Ellis. Production started in
Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...
, England, and was completed in the same
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
studio where she worked on ''Sprinter''. ''Three Futures'' takes inspiration from electro-pop, gothic industrial, and
Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...
. Scott also contributed a cover version of "Until I Die" to the
Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...
charity compilation album ''
Cover Stories ''Cover Stories'' is a charity tribute album in which various artists cover songs from Brandi Carlile's 2007 studio album, '' The Story''. Benefits from the album, which was released on May 5, 2017, will benefit the organization War Child UK. ...
''.


''Silver Tongue'' (2020)

Scott's fourth studio album '' Silver Tongue'' was released on January 31, 2020 via
Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...
. ''Pitchfork'' gave it a positive review saying "''Tongue'' is both her most intimate and eclectic album thus far". "Dressing America" was selected as "Song of the Day" by Kevin Cole, the host of ''The Afternoon Show'' on
KEXP-FM KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non-pr ...
.


''Thirstier'' (2021)

Scott's fifth album, ''
Thirstier ''Thirstier'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Torres. It was released on July 30, 2021, through Merge Records. Background and release ''Thirstier'' follows Torres's 2020 album, '' Silver Tongue''. Recorded in fall 2020 at Middle ...
'', was released on July 30, 2021.


Influences

From a young age, Scott has been influenced by
Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
. Her live performances are known to be very dramatic and she believes this stems from her early experiences with musical theater. Scott has also cited
Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...
and
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
as major influences on her style. Scott writes poetry and short stories, and has listed her favorite author as
Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, ''The ...
, who has inspired many of her works.


Critical reception

Her self-titled album ''TORRES'' received favorable reviews from ''Beats Per Minute'', ''Pitchfork'', and
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. Music website
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
named Torres's debut single, "Honey," best new track, describing it as "an arena-rock moment happening on an empty stage ..with its slow-burn intensity and coiled energy." Following the release of the album, Pitchfork gave the debut Torres album an 8.1 rating calling the record "an overwhelming rush of feeling ..that connects with throat-seizing immediacy." TORRES' second album also received many positive reviews. On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the album has a score of 81 out of 100, indicating "Universal acclaim." Consequence of Sound praised that Scott's lyrics, "writes with the courage of someone much older. She is already willing to bear the wisdom and insight that comes from her Southern Baptist roots — and from leaving them behind" and gave the album an A−. ''Pitchfork'' also praised the album writing "When Scott can find the right balance of these elements—dark, introspective, mid-tempo, highly distorted, and in the four to five-minute range—she hits a sweet spot, like on 'New Skin' and the album's title track." Torres' third album ''Three Futures'', which was released on September 29, 2017, has been met with positive reviews. ''Rolling Stone'' gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars. The Rolling Stone describes the album as "offering conflicted images of emotional and physical release over bracing industrial-rock textures." The AV Club also praises ''Three Futures'' describing it as "hazily fascinating, flowing naturally through its various peaks and valleys, and it succeeds in Scott's goal of being truly immersive listening," while rating the album an A−. ''
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' gave the album a B+, describing Scott's ability to pursue new musical directions "with poise and confidence..." ''DIY'' also awarded Three Futures 4 out of 5 stars and noted Scott takes a step forward without forgetting what made her previous albums successful, by venturing into "previously little-trodden ground in sumptuous new ways."


Personal life

Scott is currently in a relationship with artist Jenna Gribbon, who designed the cover for her album ''Silver Tongue''. She describes an experience of meeting her in a dream before they met in person. Scott announced their
engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
in October, 2020. On May 1, 2021, Scott came out as non-binary in a tweet.


Discography


Studio albums

* ''
Torres Torres may refer to: People *Torres (surname), a Spanish and Portuguese surname *Torres (musician), singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott **Torres (album), ''Torres'' (album), 2013 self-titled album by Torres Places Americas *Torres, Colorado, an un ...
'' (2013) * '' Sprinter'' (2015) * ''
Three Futures ''Three Futures'' is the third studio album by Torres (née Mackenzie Scott), released on September 29, 2017, on 4AD Records. The album was recorded in England. As with Torres' last album '' Sprinter'', ''Three Futures'' was produced by Rob Eli ...
'' (2017) * '' Silver Tongue'' (2020) * ''
Thirstier ''Thirstier'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Torres. It was released on July 30, 2021, through Merge Records. Background and release ''Thirstier'' follows Torres's 2020 album, '' Silver Tongue''. Recorded in fall 2020 at Middle ...
'' (2021)


Live albums

* ''Live in Berlin'' (2020)


Other releases

* "Torres" b/w "Motel Beds" (2014) (
Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
) * "Until I Die"


Music videos


Skim
(2017)
Three Futures
(2017)
Helen In The Woods
(2017)


Singles

* "Good Scare" (2020) * "Gracious Day" (2020)


References


External links


Torres on Partisan Records label

4ad Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres 1991 births Living people American singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters American lesbian musicians Non-binary musicians LGBT people from Georgia (U.S. state) LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Musicians from Macon, Georgia American guitarists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) Merge Records artists Partisan Records artists 4AD artists Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)