Phoebe Killdeer (born 1977) is an Australian producer, songwriter and the lead singer of the groups Phoebe Killdeer & the Short Straws and Phoebe Killdeer & the Shift. She is best known for her song " The Fade Out Line", which became a major international hit in 2014 when a reworked version of it was released by the

deep house Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ...

producer The Avener retitled as " Fade Out Lines".

Life and career

Killdeer was born in

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

, South of France in 1977 to Australian parents. She became known performing with the French new wave covers band

Nouvelle Vague The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of i ...

. She appears on their second album, '' Bande à Part'' (2006), and she also toured with the group. She also features on the Basement Jaxx song "Tonight", on their album '' Kish Kash'' (2003), and on the Zero dB track "Sunshine Lazy", on the album ''Bongos, Bleeps and Basslines'' (2006). Following her work with Nouvelle Vague, Killdeer went on to pursue a solo career, forming the band The Short Straws, and releasing her first album, ''Weather's Coming'', in 2008. Killdeer's second album with the group, ''Innerquake'', was released in 2011. Killdeer's musical style is influenced by

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

and by 1960s rock and blues; her voice has been compared to that of

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

and of

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

. A song from the second album, "The Fade Out Line", was subsequently reworked by the French

producer The Avener (Tristan Casara). It was released in September 2014 under the slightly altered title, " Fade Out Lines". The song charted in several countries, reaching number one in Germany, Spain, and Austria, and reaching number 3 in France, and number 6 in Italy. Killdeer later moved to Berlin where she began a new project, Phoebe Killdeer & the Shift, featuring Thomas Mahmoud-Zahl and Ole Wulfers. Their first album, ''The Piano's Playing the Devil's Tune'' (2016), is an experimental collaboration with the Portuguese actress and singer

Maria de Medeiros Maria Esteves de Medeiros Victorino de Almeida, DamSE (born 19 August 1965), known professionally as Maria de Medeiros (), is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film-productions. Ear ...

(best known for playing the girlfriend of

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...

's character in the 1994 film ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

''). The album was released on the

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

-based label Altin Village & Mine.

Discography

;Phoebe Killdeer & the Short Straws * ''Weather's Coming'' (2008) * ''Innerquake'' (2011) ; ;Phoebe Killdeer & the Shift * ''The Piano's Playing the Devil's Tune'' (2016) – with

Them There * ''Love is an elevator'' (2019) Kill The Pain * ''Kill The Pain'' (2023) Nouvelle Vague * ''Bande A Part'' (2006) * ''Rareties'' (2019) * ''Curiosities'' (2019) * ''Should I Saty Or Should I Go?'' (2024) Basement Jaxx * Track: ''Tonight'' (2003) Zero dB * Track: ''Conga Madness'' (2006) * Track: ''Sunshine Lazy'' (2006) Agoria * Track: ''Embrace'' (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Killdeer, Phoebe 1977 births Living people People from Antibes 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers