Catch Prichard

BIO

Originally from a small town in the northern Midwest, Sawyer Gebauer moved to Europe at age 19 where he founded the Swedish art-folk project Brittsommar. After tours of Europe and the U.S. and the release of three albums, he returned stateside to Oakland, California in 2016 where he began a new project, Catch Prichard. Always on the hunt to create in unorthodox environments such as an abandoned auto factory in Berlin, an empty synagogue on the rim of a frozen Wisconsin lake, or an East Texas ghost town, Sawyer released 6 albums in a 9-year span, garnering support from Pitchfork, NPR, Noisey, Consequence of Sound, American Songwriter Magazine, Uproxx, No Depression, Ladygunn, and more along the way.

In March 2020, Catch Prichard recorded I Still Miss Theresa Benoit while Gebauer was unknowingly under the influence of COVID-19 and its weight was heard throughout the album as he struggled to catch his breath between takes. Pitchfork claimed this haunting record as “possibly the first album to be sung by someone suffering the effects of COVID-19.”  

In 2023, Catch Prichard is releasing a new collection of solo home recordings that once again reaches for the firmament of mercurial musical experimentation. Forthcoming single “Beauty Drone” (out 6/6/23 via AWAL) is a cinematic lo-fi ballad about the beauty of the unknown and the embracing of impermanence. The song abrupts with a simple yet powerful drive, with deep synths that slowly layer throughout the track. A subtle pulse creates energetic tension while maintaining an alleviated temper. Ghostly vocal harmonies cry into the deep end of a rhythmic drone until the ascending tension finally breaks into sweeping drums and distant guitar. Sawyer’s drive for musical experimentation, while maintaining pop sensibilities, dives to places familiar yet remote, like the strange moment within deja vu – or fractals within a dream.

Recorded and produced by Sawyer in his Oakland home, these Catch Prichard tracks are a brutally honest confession of doubt, inhibition, desire, and hope. Implementing processed acoustic instruments, granular synthesis, tape manipulation, and orchestral sampling, Sawyer sustains a delicate symbiosis between ambient soundscapes and songwriting traditions without compromising harmony, melody, or form. Ultimately, these songs echo the vulnerabilities of the self and inspire the strength to grow larger than them. 

PRESS QUOTES

“The Oakland band’s darkly psychedelic country folk suggests things on the verge of collapse.” – Pitchfork

“Plenty of people sing baritone; few sound as tortured by it as Sawyer Gebauer does on I Still Miss Theresa Benoit.” – Pitchfork

“Mellotron notes hum darkly alongside padding electronic melodies that slide underneath the heavy vocalizations, the whole thing lifted into the gloaming by a soothing sax solo. It’s Catch Prichard reborn out of the struggles of relocation, as it ever has been in the past.” – Consequence of Sound

“…haunting, minimal folk music.” – Noisey

“…steeped in traditional folk and Americana in the vein of Townes Van Zandt and features dexterous guitar work, accompanied by his powerful baritone that simultaneously conjures ANOHNI and Leonard Cohen.” – Creative Loafing

“…slow, slightly twangy, and every bit of it is beautiful.” – Impose Magazine

“…singer/songwriter Sawyer Gebauer is rooted in country, Americana, with lushly narrative lyrics.” – No Depression

“…builds over a sweet, lowly guitar line, punctuated by Gebauer’s mesmerizing, burnt out vocals and stately brass.” – Uproxx

“The moment you hear his voice, you’re left in awe that this is coming out of a young, living human being and not from a dusty old record from decades past. His voice is notably deep, and somehow sounds both controlled and relaxed at the same time. It seems to transcend era and time.” – Ladygunn

“There’s something really special in Catch Prichard‘s voice, something that haunts and soothes the soul simultaneously.” – Austin Town Hall

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MUSIC

Check out new music from I Still Miss Theresa Benoit:

https://catchprichard.fanlink.to/lipstickandfur

https://catchprichard.fanlink.to/woman

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PHOTOS