Contact/Bio
For events, booking and licensing, musing, and curious and/or general investigation:
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christen [at] itsnotaviolin.com
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Short Bio:
Using guitar effects and a looping machine, classically trained violist Christen Lien performs original compositions on viola and harmonica that are a beautiful mixture of East and West, classical and postmodern, and acoustic and electronic. Lien’s debut album is called Vol. I: Battle Cry and it reflects a 24-year journey of challenging and expanding classical Viola expression. Spontaneously creating then incorporating layers of live effects, Lien paints music with guitar effect pedals, live looping, melodic mixing and expressive performance. For more info, visit www.itsnotaviolin.com.
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Long Bio:
Using guitar effects and a looping machine, classically trained violist Christen Lien performs original compositions on viola that are a beautiful mixture of East and West, classical and postmodern, acoustic and electronic. Spontaneously creating then incorporating layers of live effects, Lien paints music with guitar effect pedals, live looping, melodic mixing and expressive performance.
Lien’s debut album is called Vol. I: Battle Cry and it reflects a 24-year journey of challenging and expanding classical Viola expression, taking it to a new level. She was recently showcased on Oprah Radio and on NPR’s KPCC in Los Angeles, to discuss her unique method of composing and performing, as well as the motivation and backstory of each song from Vol. I: Battle Cry, an album dedicated to the “fierce urgency of now.”
Lien is also recognized for the use of her song ‘15 Aftermaths‘ in the acclaimed video Midway. Message From the Gyre. in collaboration with award-winning photographer Chris Jordan. The video, which depicts how plastic pollution has affected the albatross birds of the remote island of Midway Atoll in the North Pacific, has received accolades for the increased awareness the project has brought to the issue of plastic pollution. She is an avid supporter of the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
Always placing meaning and thoughtfulness about the human condition as the foundation of her creative work, Lien is often found in dialogue with her audience and fans about global issues of our time.
Recently Lien performed at TEDxOilSpill in Washington DC, and featured a song that was inspired by her own trip to the Gulf Coast. Lien was recruited to share her understanding of Harmony with an audience of rocket scientists and engineers from NASA, she was part of the Youth Delegation at Governor Schwarzenegger’s Global Climate Summit to discuss the role of artists in the climate change movement, and spent time with the indigenous Achuar tribe of the Amazon rainforest to better understand how the tribes of the Amazon fight the deforestation challenges due to the pressure of multi-national oil companies for the coveted resources that lie beneath the rainforest.
Lien recently debuted the music video for the song ‘Unabi‘ (translates to “flash of light” in Zulu) which features the abandoned auto factories of Detroit and the acclaimed “Detroit Industry” fresco cycle mural by Diego Rivera.
In her words, the inspiration behind Vol. I: Battle Cry:
“VOL. I: BATTLE CRY is a musical depiction of the emotional journey we each take to unlock our power. I wrote this album to support you in finding and releasing your battle cry in a moment in time when we are faced with what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described as the “fierce urgency of now” — when our vigilance or neglect determines the fate of generations. In each of us lives a unique passion – a dream that wants to be worked into reality. It is critical for your dream to be manifested, for your gift to be given, for your power to be brought forth if we are to rise together and overcome our collective challenges. My dream is that this music will support you, as you step into your power and offer all you have to give.”
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CHRISTEN LIEN: Viola artist, activist, and musical anarchist
by Jana Lynne White
Dynamic and beautiful, when she wields her Viola, Christen Lien commands elemental force. Earth, wind, fire, and water pour through her layered electronics. One fan calls her soundscapes: “Ethereal and otherworldly; a bridge to the divine.”
Her debut album is called Vol. I: Battle Cry, and it is dark and delicious. It’s street-cred and classical, mystically woven in a fierce musical tapestry.
This newly released CD reflects a twenty-four year journey of mastering, then challenging and expanding classical Viola expression. Christen’s performance and compositional approach is to surrender to creating space for music to express through her. Spontaneously creating then incorporating layers of live effects, Lien paints music with guitar effect pedals, live looping, melodic mixing and expressive performance.
She was eight years old when she first started playing the Viola. Since that moment, she’s been passionate about her instrument although life tempted her with other paths from time to time.
The film world called for its storytelling. Working with John Cusack’s production company, New Crime Productions, as Assistant to the President, Christen learned valuable organizational skills that led to a transformational role in rebirthing the Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF).
Under Christen’s leadership as Executive Director, Variety named the AAFF one of their top ten favorite film festivals in the world, openly impressed by the First Amendment lawsuit she launched: Ann Arbor Film Festival v. the State of Michigan. Film historians recognize and respect the strong leadership role Christen played in transforming laws granting access to funding for artists, and standing against censorship.
Today, her time is dedicated to her music. The surprise and mystery of her life’s journey is never predictable. A California resident, Christen travels and plays wherever she’s called, creating atmospheric Viola environments that people experience and remember.
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VOL. I: BATTLE CRY.
CHRISTEN LIEN’S MUSIC.
www.itsnotaviolin.com
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