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Although its name suggests the presence of a full band, Sparklehorse was essentially the work of singer/songwriter Mark
Linkous, an alumnus ofthe mid-'80s indie band the Dancing Hoods. A tenure in the Johnson Family (later known as Salt Chuck
Mary) followed, as did stints sweepingchimneys and painting houses. He began working as Sparklehorse in 1995, honing his
spooky, lo-fi roots pop in the studio located on his farm inBremo Bluff, VA. After a demo made its way to the offices of Capitol
Records, Linkous signed to the label and issued Sparklehorse's acclaimeddebut, Vivadixiesubmarinetr ...read more
Although its name suggests the presence of a full band, Sparklehorse was essentially the work of singer/songwriter Mark
Linkous, an alumnus ofthe mid-'80s indie band the Dancing Hoods. A tenure in the Johnson Family (later known as Salt Chuck
Mary) followed, as did stints sweepingchimneys and painting houses. He began working as Sparklehorse in 1995, honing his
spooky, lo-fi roots pop in the studio located on his farm inBremo Bluff, VA. After a demo made its way to the offices of Capitol
Records, Linkous signed to the label and issued Sparklehorse's acclaimeddebut, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, scoring an
alternative radio hit with the single "Someday I Will Treat You Good."
In early 1996, after a Sparklehorse concert in London, Linkous nearly died when he passed out after mixing Valium with
prescriptionantidepressants. He spent 14 hours unconscious on his hotel's bathroom floor, his legs pinned under the rest of his
body, and the prolonged lossof blood circulation nearly left him crippled. Many months and countless surgeries later, he was
quite literally back on his feet, and his recoveryprovided inspiration for 1998's Good Morning Spider. Linkous then collaborated
with PJ Harvey and the Cardigans' Nina Persson on 2001's radiantIt's a Wonderful Life. In between that album and 2006's
Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain (which featured contributions from TomWaits and Danger Mouse), Linkous
contributed songs to the soundtrack of the film Laurel Canyon and produced Daniel Johnston's 2003 album,Fear Yourself.
The next Sparklehorse project was truly an ambitious one: a multimedia sound and art gallery done in conjunction with Danger
Mouse andfilmmaker David Lynch called Dark Night of the Soul. The project featured several singers, including James Mercer,
Gruff Rhys, Jason Lytle, JulianCasablancas, Frank Black, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, Scott Spillane,
and David Lynch, whose photographs made upthe 100-page accompanying book. Although slated to appear on the Capitol
label in 2009, Dark Night of the Soul ended up dry docked by a legaldispute between EMI and Danger Mouse (most likely
stemming from the producer's brilliant -- but decidedly unlicensed -- Jay-Z/Beatles 2004mash-up The Grey Album, which
creatively combined the White Album with The Black Album and jump-started his career). Dark Night of the Soulwas left
marooned as an adjunct hostage in a complicated legal entanglement. Copies leaked out in different configurations, but it
becameapparent that Dark Night of the Soul's legitimate release was in serious jeopardy. Cutting his losses, Linkous instead
turned his attention to acollaborative project with laptop artist Christian Fennesz. The two had previously recorded music
together in 2007, and excerpts from thosesessions were packaged together, forming the 2009 release In the Fishtank.
As of early 2010, Linkous had moved to Hayesville, NC, and was reportedly nearing completion of a new Sparklehorse album.
On March 6 of thatyear he was visiting friends in Knoxville, TN, when he committed suicide at age 47 by shooting himself in
the chest with a rifle. Condolencespoured in from a number of major artists in the music world, including Patti Smith, Steve
Albini, and Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips, a groupwith whom Linkous had collaborated on Discovered Covered, a Daniel
Johnston tribute album. An official release of Dark Night of the Soul arrivedthat July.
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