Lustrous contemporary folk music--Antara & Delilah's songs beautifully explore the amazing and unspoken in life.

12 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, FOLK: like Joni



Details:
Challenging convention is nothing new to Antara and Delilah. These singer/songwriters had to create a new word to title their CD, released in January of 2000. "Dua," Antara says, "is a word we made up to describe what we are-two collaborating musicians who are women."

Take note of this dua. Rich with provocative harmonies blending two lifetimes of musical experience, Dua speaks thoughtful stories of spirituality, love, and social awareness. Delilah explains, "Songwriting is my way to take what's on the inside and put it out in a way that can teach me something...and to shine a light for someone else to reflect on their own experience."

Antara cites her musical inspirations from a wide variety of sources, and after dabbling in a variety of instruments settled on the guitar. She says, "I was spending a semester in Costa Rica when I started putting poetry to music using some chords I'd learned in guitar class. I was amazed at how easily the songs came out."

"Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember," Delilah says. Singing in choirs, and directing an A'capella group in college, Delilah spent a year in New York City studying Jazz at the New School (hear the influence in "Exposed" on the CD). She took a break from music to attend graduate school and establish a career, but moving to Santa Barbara in 1997 gave her the opportunity to get back into music. "I met Jimmy Messina and attended the workshop, and I realized I truly missed the music."

Antara also attended the Jim Messina Songwriter's Workshop, where she and Delilah met. Both were inspired by the musical kinship they discovered while working on harmonies with Messina. "After the workshop, I was so excited to delve deeper into music," Antara recalls, "and I'd always felt having a partnership would encourage me to be more productive." Delilah agrees, "It came really easily to us and the songs took on new life."

With Dua, Antara and Delilah present twelve original songs displaying a wondrous blend of vibrant harmonies and experience culled during their years of live performances. Hooking up with producer Jack Lee, Jeff Pevar (of David Crosby's CPR), bassist Randy Tico, drummer Jesse Seibenberg and guitarist Randy Cobb, the dua has captured the very soul of what defines them as artists.

Listening to Antara and Delilah sing, it is obvious that for these two women it really is all about the music. "We wanted two things to stand out-our voices and our guitars." Delilah says. Appropriately, the dua closes the CD with a song defining their relationship with the music they play: "For the Love of It." Which, after all, is why you'll listen.