Cynthia Dall is a lo-fi

Lo-fi music

Lo-fi is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an...

 musician and photographer. Dall also gained notoriety in the fanzine world of the 90s for her frequent transgressive

Transgressive art

Transgressive art refers to art forms that aim to transgress; i.e. to outrage or violate basic mores and sensibilities. The term transgressive was first used by American filmmaker Nick Zedd and his Cinema of Transgression in 1985...

-styled cover shots and appearances in Lisa Carver

Lisa Crystal Carver

Lisa Crystal Carver , also known as Lisa Suckdog, is an American writer known for her writing in Rollerderby. Through her interviews, she introduced the work of Vaginal Davis, Dame Darcy, Cindy Dall, Boyd Rice, Costes , Nick Zedd, GG Allin, Kate Landau, Queen Itchie & Liz Armstrong to many...

's Rollerderby magazine.

Biography

Dall started recording and performing with then-boyfriend, Bill Callahan under his former moniker, Smog. She first appeared on the Smog song "Wine Stained Lips", which was a B-side to the 1994 "A Hit" 7" single. Dall went on to contribute vocals and guitar on the Burning Kingdom EP, Wild Love

Wild Love (album)

Wild Love is Smog's fourth album, released on March 27, 1995 on Drag City and later re-released in Europe on Domino in 2001. Jim O'Rourke contributed as cellist on this album, which marks his first collaboration with Smog. Drag City's producer Rian Murphy helped develop a wider musical palette than...

, and The Doctor Came at Dawn

The Doctor Came at Dawn

The Doctor Came at Dawn is Smog's fifth album, released in September 1996 on Drag City and re-released in Europe in 2001 by Domino. It was engineered by Jim O'Rourke, who would later become the producer of Smog's two following albums Red Apple Falls and Knock Knock...

, and she toured with Smog in the US and Europe in 1995.

In 1996, Dall released her first solo album, Untitled. The original pressing of the LP had no artist name on the sleeve at the time, but Dall's name was later added for re-pressings. The album features engineering work by Jim O'Rourke

Jim O'Rourke (musician)

Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...

, and guitar and vocals by Bill Callahan.

In 1998, she did the vocals for a remix of "Torture Day" by The Notwist

The Notwist

The Notwist are a German indie rock band. Formed in 1989, the band moved through several musical incarnations despite maintaining a relatively stable lineup...

.

In 2002, Dall released her second album, Sound Restores Young Men, which was recorded by O'Rourke and Tim Green of The Fucking Champs

The Fucking Champs

The Fucking Champs are a three-piece progressive rock band from San Francisco, California. They are known for their heavy metal appeal, based largely around shifting time signatures, guitar harmonies, and lots of rhythm. Most songs are instrumental. They are currently signed to Drag City...

.

Discography

• Untitled, Drag City
  Drag City (record label)
  Drag City is a Chicago-based independent record label. It was established with a Royal Trux release in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn.Drag City specializes in experimental indie rock acts...
  
  #73 (1996)
• Sound Restores Young Men, Drag City
  Drag City (record label)
  Drag City is a Chicago-based independent record label. It was established with a Royal Trux release in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn.Drag City specializes in experimental indie rock acts...
  
  #132 (2002)

External links

• Cynthia Dall's page at Drag City Records
• [ Cynthia Dall Bio on AllMusic.com]
• A Fan-Based Profile on MySpace