"Ayla and Davyd Nereo straddle Americana and indie, practicing contemporary 'outsider' folk at its best: modest, smart, and enduringly satisfying."
- East Bay Express
Begun among the oak trees and upright pianos of Sonoma County, Beatbeat Whisper is the project of siblings Davyd and Ayla Nereo, now based in Oakland, California. The two began making music as wee ones; Ayla notated piano chords in her own music language, and Davyd recorded experimental punk-folk into a computer. After schooling at home for many years, they entered high school, learned the system, went to college, learned specialization, and eight years later began to un-school themselves properlay again. By the last year of college Ayla had finished her first album Play Me A Time, and Davyd was working on his second album The Things We Know How To Love.
One fateful rainy night they spontaneously co-wrote the song, "Try not to let the rain in your boots, child," which was chosen two months later to be on the compilation Stanford Soundtrack 2006. Ayla and Davyd realized they'd have to make more songs to be able to play a show for the release. So that was the beginning of Beatbeat Whisper.
Since that first show, their songs have been in two films, many more compilations (including the 2007 Stanford Soundtrack), and across the airwaves and Top 10 lists of KUSP, KZSU, KZSC, KDVS "Cool As Folk," , KCSB, KCPR, WUML, WSCA and more. Wonder Continental was included in several "Top 50 albums of 2008" lists, and Beatbeat Whisper has been featured on podcasts and articles from Daytrotter, The Bay Bridged, East Bay Express, Pacific Noise, and among the pages (and February CD sampler) of Paste Magazine. Each an outstanding songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, their voices weave together to create what's been called "dreamy, poignant renderings of life's breathless moments." Listen yourself and see what you feel.
Beatbeat Whisper has released two full-length albums, Beatbeat Whisper (2007) and Wonder Continental (2008). Current projects include two music videos for Wonder Continental, launching the Dapper Bay Bootlegs performance series, and producing a third full-length album.
--- Look for Beatbeat Whisper's feature in the February 2009 issue of Paste magazine, along with their song "Mismanaged Skies" on the sampler.
"Nature talking its own jive." – Daytrotter
"Intuitive use of sound and space to craft full, strong melodies... incorporating a variety of pop and rock influences that further set them apart" – The Bay Bridged
"Their blend sounds natural enough to be a joint birthright... winding folk and prosodic storytelling." – Paste Magazine
Click for BOOKING inquiries
Wonder Continental
released May 1, 2008
limited handmade edition
silkscreened, stamped and sewn with our own fingery thumbs
150 copies
$17 + shipment
and for download...
Beatbeat Whisper
2006
$10 + shipment
and for download
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