Howlin Wuelf Media :: Chapin Sisters

Lily & Abigail Chapin are singing, songwriting sisters who perform under the name The Chapin Sisters. They are known for pristine harmonies and haunting melodies that have gained comparisons to sister acts of old and Appalachian family groups, yet their songs and arrangements have a very contemporary aspect, with elements of pop, blues, folk, and even psychedelic rock.

“More than anything else, The Chapin Sisters are a brilliant new take on the harmony groups of another time – old fashioned folk music injected with new life and an occasionally morbid twist.”
- Stephen Thomas/We Make Lists (May 23, 2010)

For their forthcoming new album, Two – Lily and Abigail, along with co-producers Jesse Lee (Gang Gang Dance) and Louie Stephens (Rooney) retreated to an old family farm in rural New Jersey where they put-together a studio and recorded. Two incorporates lush keyboards, layered percussion, electric guitars and warm, rich vocals tones, in addition to the staple acoustic guitar and three part-harmonies that the sisters are already known for. It will be released in North America (US & Canada) on August 31st and in the UK/Europe in January 2011.

"Seductive and delicate folk-pop, with an occasional darker edge…"
- Craig "Dodge" Lite, My Old Kentucky Blog (May 24, 2010)

This Summer, Lily & Abigail will be touring with She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) as members of their band and will be opening many of the shows as well. So, the sisters released an EP of live-in-studio tracks – Oh, Hear The Wind Blow to sell at these shows. It was recorded over a weekend this Spring in Silverlake, CA with their live band The Brothers Brothers - Dan Horne (Mezzanine Owls), Louie Stephens, and Aaron Sperske (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti).

“I managed to catch Zooey singing one of their songs with them, I think it was “Let Me Go”. Their voices blended really well together, and it was nice to see them back on stage as backing vocalists with mean percussion skills in She & Him’s set.”
- Milky Tea Kid
(from She & Him live review of London show, May 10th)

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Their first full-length record, Lake Bottom LP was collaboration with their other sister, Jessica Craven, who has sense taken a leave of absence to spend time with her new baby. Produced by Thom Monahan (Lilys, Devendra Bandhart, Vetiver) and Mike Daly (Whiskeytown, Grace Potter), the record was critically acclaimed and was named on of the LA Weekly’s Top Ten Records of 2008. It is being released in the UK/Europe this Summer.

“The one virtue the Chapin Sisters shares with classic sister acts of old becomes apparent when they sing together: that shiver of spotless, familial unity that makes every syllable woundingly poignant.”
- FLAVORPILL San Francisco

Abigail and Lily were born in Brooklyn New York. They couldn’t help but pick up a thorough grounding in traditional American roots music and folk-rock from their father, 3-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Tom Chapin. He, along with their grandfather Jim Chapin, a jazz drummer, and their uncle, singer-songwriter Harry Chapin, created an environment wherein music held an almost sacred purpose, of bringing people together, whether it be for family, humanitarian purposes, or joyful release. When the family relocated to New York’s Hudson Valley, Lily and Abigail attended a Waldorf school whose arts-based education added training in orchestral music and the complicated harmonies of Shape-note songs and old English folk ballads. Through elementary and high school they sang on over a dozen studio albums.

"The Chapin Sisters were bred on vinyl, listening to Neil Young and the Beach Boys as toddlers. As children, they sang backup on Tom Chapin records. One, Abigail, admits to stints as a grunge girl, hip-hopper and punk rocker. "It was a rebellion against my family," she admits. The group, however, is definitely a family affair. Their father, Tom offers them sage advice on making it in the record business. "He has taught us how not to sell your soul to be a rock star," Lily says."
- Paper Magazine

Since graduating from college and pursuing music professionally, the sisters have recorded vocals on albums by: Vetiver, Lavender Diamond, Gary Louris, Ann Magnusen, Will Oldham and Marie Sioux, among many others.