Iron and Wine Biography

Iron and Wine Biography

Iron & Wine is the stage name for one Samuel Beam, a Florida native who made his name by releasing lo-fi tapes in Miami. After catching the attention of Sub Pop honcho Jonathan Poneman, Beam was asked to send material to the label for submission. After a few months, he sent two CDs in the mail -- both of them full-length albums.Poneman considered releasing them both, but instead slimmed down the set to 12 songs and released it in September 2002 as The Creek Drank the Cradle. One year later, The Sea & the Rhythm followed, featuring five tracks recorded during the same sessions. Shortly thereafter, Beam headed into the studio for the very first time to make a record.

The end result was the resolutely hi-fi record Our Endless Numbered Days, which was released by Sub Pop in 2004. Also that year, three Iron & Wine songs were used in the film In Good Company, and Beam's cover of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" was featured on the Garden State soundtrack. For the next Iron & Wine project, the group recorded an EP with Calexico; In the Reins was issued by Overcoat Recordings in September 2005. By this point there were no traces of the lo-fi sound of Beam's first recordings, and the band's third full-length album, 2007's The Shepherd's Dog, was their lushest, most produced yet.

Iron & Wine is the stage and recording name of folk rocksinger-songwriter, Samuel Beam. He has released three studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). Beam was raised in South Carolina before moving to Florida to attend school, but now resides outside of Austin, Texas. The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store while shooting a film. Beam released his first Iron & Wine album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, on the Sub Pop label in 2002. Beam wrote, performed, recorded and produced the album in his home studio. Featuring acoustic guitars, banjo, andslide guitar, the album's music has been compared to that of Nick Drake, Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Young, Elliott Smith, and John Fahey. The debut album was followed in 2003 by The Sea & The Rhythm, an EP containing other home-recorded tracks with a similar style to the songs on the debut.

Beam's second album, Our Endless Numbered Days(2004), was recorded in a professional studio with a significant increase in fidelity. Produced in Chicago byBrian Deck, the focus was still on acoustic material, but the inclusion of other band members gave rise to a slightly different sound. That same year, Beam recorded the song "The Trapeze Swinger" for the film In Good Company. In February 2005, Beam released an EP titled Woman King, which expanded on the sounds of his previous LP and added electric guitars. Each track featured a spiritual female figure and had subtle Biblicalundertones.

The third full-length Iron & Wine album, titled The Shepherd's Dog, was released September 25, 2007. This album was voted one of the ten best of 2007 by Paste Magazine. Contributors included Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, as well as jazz musicians Matt Lux and Rob Burger. When asked to describe the album toThe Independent, Beam remarked that "it's not a political propaganda record, but it's definitely inspired by political confusion, because I was really taken aback when Bushgot reelected."

In 2002, Beam recorded a cover of The Postal Service'sthen-unreleased song "Such Great Heights". Rather than being included on an Iron & Wine release, the track was initially only included as a b-side of the original version by The Postal Service. In 2004, Beam's version was featured in an advertisement for M&M's and in the filmGarden State and its popular soundtrack. This version was later used in a 2006 Ask.com advertisement. A single of the Iron & Wine version of "Such Great Heights" was released in 2006, backed with recordings of "The Trapeze Swinger" and "Naked As We Came" made for Radio Vienna.

Beam has released all of his music on iTunes, including several exclusive EPs. The Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP features unreleased studio recordings, including a Stereolab cover and two tracks which had previously only appeared on vinyl. The Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) EP features Beam and his sister, Sarah Beam, performing a number of tracks from his albums, as well as a cover of New Order's "Love Vigilantes". Sarah Beam has contributed backing vocals on many of Beam's studio recordings.

The Iron & Wine song "Passing Afternoon" from the album Our Endless Numbered Days was featured onHouse MD, season 4 episode 16 titled "Wilson's Heart" (which was the season finale) May, 2008.