Dee Carstensen

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Dee Carstensen
Born (1956-02-18) February 18, 1956 (age 68)
Maryland
OriginNew York City
GenresContemporary folk, New Age[1]
Instrument(s)Harp
Years active1993–
LabelsNYC Records, Exit Nine Records, Blue Thumb[a]
Spouse(s)Mike Mainieri (m.1993)[2]

Dee Carstensen (born February 18, 1956[3][2]) is a New York City-based contemporary folk and new age singer/songwriter who is best known for her harp playing.[4][5]

Personal life[edit]

Carstensen was born on February 18, 1956 in Maryland and later moved with her parents and four siblings to Rochester.[3][2] She started her musical interest by playing piano when she was 5 years old, and later took up stringed instruments when she was 8.[6] Part of her studies in the stringed instrument family included the harp, which was done with a harpist from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.[2] Carstensen described her relationship with stringed instruments as "love-hate", while she said her upbringing was "classical training" she was also listening to Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, James Taylor, and Jimi Hendrix.[6] Carstensen is married to vibist Mike Mainieri, who she says is the "single most important influence on her musical career."[5][7] She cites this by mentioning 2 separate instances where she would "throw out ideas" and Mainieri offered his constructive criticism for her.[5]

Career[edit]

Carstensen's debut came in 1993 with her album Beloved One, which was largely produced by Bob Marlette and included guitar work by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.[2][6] Her second album called Regarding the Soul came out in 1995, and was produced by Neil Dorfsman.[2] In this album Dee integrated her singing, songwriting and harp-playing after "fooling around" with the instrument for a bit.[5][6] Regarding the Soul was initially released under a subsidiary imprint called "Exit Nine Records" by Mainieri, and was later re-released in 1998 under Blue Thumb.[2][8] Dee's third album called The Map also came out during this year which was released under a joint-venture agreement between GRP and Mainieri's NYC Records.[9] However, the Gavin Reports release schedule for the Summer of 1998 mentions Blue Thumb instead.[10]


Dee also recorded a children's album, Can You Hear Lullaby (2001), which featured guest vocals Everett Bradley, Curtis King and Julie Dansky and instrumental work by her husband.[citation needed]

Dee went back into the studio and recorded a solo album, Patch of Blue, which was released in 2005.[7] Unlike previous work, all eight songs were originals, except Fly Away whose music was co-written with her husband, who played vibraphone on the album.[citation needed] Patch of Blue did not include any guitar work.[citation needed] Instead, it featured Dee's harp and vocals, with backing from the Tosca String Quartet and several woodwind players.[citation needed]

Carstensen has been described as using her harp "like a guitar" in her folk/pop compositions.[11]

Discography[edit]

Year (release) Album Label
1993[6]
Beloved One
NYC Records
1995[6]
Regarding The Soul
Exit Nine Records[b]
1998[9]
The Map
Exit Nine/Blue Thumb[10]
1999[3]
Home Away From Home
Exit Nine/Blue Thumb
2001[12]
Can You Hear a Lullaby
Exit Nine/Blue Thumb
2005[3]
Patch of Blue
Exit Nine/Blue Thumb

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Blue Thumb was owned by Universal, the company later folded in 2005.
  2. ^ re-released in 1998 by Blue Thumb Records.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Map: Dee Carstensen". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Arthur Wood (2006). "Dee Carstensen – Bio". Texas Tech University - Southwest Music Archive. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Megan A. Bledsoe (2012). "The Harp in Jazz and American Pop Music" (PDF). University of Washington. p. 38–40, 76, 96.
  4. ^ "Dee Carstensen » Bio". nycrecords.com. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Dylan Siegler (January 10, 1998). "Exit Nine's Carstensen Gets marketing Push Via GRP Deal". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 2. p. 7 & 83.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Chris Morris (September 9, 1995). "Something NARM-ed his way comes; Two labels turn 10". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 36. p. 97.
  7. ^ a b Garner, Dwight (February 6, 2008). "Living With Music: A Playlist by Meghan Daum". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Regarding the Soul". NYC Records. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Show Them The Way". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 33. August 15, 1998. p. 12.
  10. ^ a b Jon Fojtik and Keith Zimmerman (June 5, 1998). "Summer Releases" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 2209. p. 40.
  11. ^ John Shepherd, Dave Laing, Peter Wicke, Paul Oliver, David Horn (2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 2. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 429. ISBN 9781847144720.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Karine S. Moe, Dianna J. Shandy (2010). Glass Ceilings and 100-hour Couples. University of Georgia Press. p. 191.

External links[edit]

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