ACOUSTIC SUNDAY 04 jun 23 – 25 jun 23

Every Sunday in June, four songwriters will share the stage of Vienna’s most established underground venue, The Chelsea.  Hosted and conceptualized by the American born and Vienna based artist, Ian Fisher, each performance will have three different acts sharing their songs and stories “in the round” with all artists on stage all evening playing one solo song after another.  These intimate seated events are made to give young artists a larger stage, established artists a chance to try out new material, and music loving audiences a space to truly listen to songs in their most raw and honest form.  The bar opens at 18:00, music starts at 19:00, and the concerts end comfortably around 22:30.  A reduced price package ticket is also available for those who would like to attend all four shows in June.  We look forward to seeing you at Ian Fisher and The Chelsea’s “Acoustic Sundays”!

IAN FISHER (Host, all dates)
Ian Fisher’s music is a Euro-American hybrid. Half Americana & Half Abbey Road-Worthy Pop. A rarity of a songwriter who, building on his Midwestern folk roots, has found a delicate balance between deep, meaningful subtext and entertaining music. World aware, he uses his platform to voice his thoughts on society in a way that blurs the line between personal and political as only a restless traveler can. Simple, yet emotionally complex, Fisher’s insightful compositions resemble the acoustic grit of an early Jeff Tweedy with pen ready to strike a’la Billy Bragg meets an old Johnny Cash notebook. A one of a kind, heartbreaking voice, he sings like his life depends on it.  Prolifically writing over one and a half thousand songs and touring the last decade and a half around Europe, America, and Africa, Fisher currently lives between Germany, Austria, and his family farm in Missouri.

Vol. I - 4.6.

MAIA ONDA
In just under 21 years, Maia Onda has already done the groundwork of building her musical career; as a singer, writer and producer, playing multiple instruments, she already placed her singles in national airplay charts. As a 13 year old teenager, she started recording her own songs and publishing them on her youtube channel. Her passion for composing and writing music is everlasting and gives her indistinguishable focus. While her releases have already sparked interest of national media outlets, Maia Onda kept exploring new studios in different cities, working with countless reputable musicians. What truly makes her out are her catchy melodies paired with a truly musical taste in composition and arrangement, packaged with her visual aesthetic. Maia Onda is dealt as a promising newcomer, who can expect a lot from in 2023.
PAUL PLUT
Paul Plut, geboren 1988 in Ramsau am Dachstein, ist autodidakter Musiker, Komponist und Texter. Er ist Teil der Bands Viech und Marta, komponiert für Film und Theater und reüssierte zuletzt mit seinem Soloprojekt („Lieder vom Tanzen und Sterben” 2017 und „Ramsau am Dachstein nach der Apokalypse” 2021).
ALIA VIOLA
Like still water running deep, indie-folk artist Alia Viola (DuoLia.) blends delicate acoustic soundscapes with enthralling songwriting that will leave you embracing all small joys in life. Her intricate sound invites the listener into a universe painted with a sense of nostalgia for something they never knew they missed.

Vol. II - 11.6.

ALMUTH
Almuth is a Lady of the Canyon.
Die große Liebe zur Country- und Folkmusik steckt in jedem ihrer Tracks. Sie dreht das Rad aber auf eine ganz eigene Art und Weise weiter. Und so reitet Almuth in einer Wolke aus dreckigen E- Gitarren und Beats durch die Prärie. Neben ihr: Townes van Zandt, Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell und James Taylor, die am Ende des Canyons auf Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Regina Sektor und Warpaint treffen.
Es ist die Musik, die laufen würde, wenn es bei Red Dead Redemption einen Radiosender gäbe.
Auf ihrer Debüt EP „Alla Prima“ präsentiert Almuth ihre ganz eigene Interpretation von Folkmusik. Zerbrechliche Melodien treffen auf ausgefeilte Harmonies. Analoges Hufgeklapper auf programmierte Beats. Über allem schwebt Almuths Stimme. Und sie erzählt vom Wind und vom Blühen und gibt dem Sonnenuntergang seine Farbe.
MIRA TAYLOR
Mira Taylor is a 19-year-old Pop/Indie-Pop singer and songwriter. She started recording her original songs first in the late summer of 2022 some of which are a part of her first EP “Should’ve Kept It To Myself” that is due to be released in the summer of 2023. One of Mira’s greatest talents is performing LIVE where she draws the audience in with her honest lyrics, melancholic melodies and modern guitars. You cannot help but feel a sense of closeness and understanding wash over the venue as she tells you a story of finding comfort within yourself and learning to embrace the challenging parts of life.
CHILI TOMASSON erzählt von Blumen im Wartezimmer und gestohlener Lyrik. Die Gefahr von politischem Rückzug aufgrund routinierter Zweisamkeit steht neben der wiederkehrenden Problematik von Literatur auf Nachttischen obwohl es doch eigentlich Zeit wäre einzuschlafen. Lieder zwischen Chansons und Kurzgeschichten, Belgrad und Triest, Julia und Luisa, Pullover und Tee.

Vol. III - 18.6.

HAYDEN ARP is a songwriter and producer from Alexandria, Virginia. In 2022, he released his debut LP, With Eliza, an album about road trips, writing, and Virginia in the summertime. It was called “Wide open like a night sky. A debut that is as enchanting as it is free-spirited” by Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung. Also in 2022, he released The Ones Who Took it Away, a single about the climate crisis and The Eighties, a collaboration with American songwriter Griffin Jennings. He has toured extensively, performing in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Washington DC, Toronto, Montreal, and Vienna. His music has been written about in publications such as The FADER, Kulturnews, and the Rock and Roll Globe. It has been featured in Spotify’s Indie Sleaze playlist, and found airplay on Radioeins in Germany. He attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied electronic music composition. He lives in Vienna, Austria.
ELENA SHIRIN
A trained singer (Anton Bruckner University Linz) and equipped with a formidable voice, Elena Shirin made first waves as a featured artist on numerous electronic music projects while still in her teens.
By her early 20s she had left Europe to tour the US (with Moon Hooch, among others); and collected herself a mosaic of experiences. Right when her solo debut, "From A to Be", finally was released,
the pandemic hit hard. All of a sudden, Elenas favourite place to express herself - the stage - was a forbidden zone. T
hose early works nonetheless were well received - from BBC1 to Germanys Musikexpress. With a bouqet of influences from poetry and cinematic soundscapes to energetic beats, from classical music, jazz, tribal rhythm to hip-hop, Elena's songwriting proves both great craftmanship and astonishing ease; with subtle, yet profound lyrics; never naive, yet positively encouraging.
SodL
There is a lot of power in being a woman and composing. Because it's more than just songs, SodL creates landscapes and stories, a warm blanket of sounds, a colourful hat made of verses. She sings about freedom, staying a child and the need to be cheeky.
In 2020, the then 16-year-old was discovered by the radio station FM4, and after an interview with Martin Blumenau, numerous performances and the debut EP "Flowers on the Moon" followed. With her latest, self-produced release "eine farbe, schlafendes Kind", SodL creates a space where indie folk and neo-classicism meet and complement each other in a strange yet subtle way. Whether dreamy melodies on the Russian button accordion or a whinging electric guitar, there is room for everything.

Vol. IV - 25.6.

GÜNTHER PAULITSCH is the frontman of the Vienna-based band, Good Wilson. Since their 2020 self-titled debut album, they’ve been praised by Austria’s top cult radio FM4 and invited to play numerous international showcases such as Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival and the Netherlands’ Eurosonic Festival. Paulitsch’s songwriting weaves deep lyrical twists and turns with catchy indie pop melodies.
VIOLETTA PARISINI
In den Liedern von Violetta Parisini finden wir uns selbst wieder, mit unseren widersprüchlichsten Gefühlen, und staunen über all die Worte, die wir vorher dafür nicht hatten. Die hörbare Verletzlichkeit und gleichzeitige Lebensfreude erzeugen Resonanz, auch bei Violetta Parisini's Konzerten, die von einer unaufgeregten Emotionalität geprägt sind.
JOHANNA SEITINGER bekennt sich als Suchende. Sie legt sich weder auf ein Genre noch auf eine Sprache oder ein Instrument eindeutig fest. So stehen englische Texte jenen im steirischen Dialekt gegenüber, reduzierte Popsongs komplexer Jazzharmonik. Ihre facettenreiche, klare Stimme steht hierbei im Fokus. Johannas Suche mündet in vielfältigen Projekten (Seitinger&Maierhofer, BLECHKASTEN, Tschebberwooky uvm.), bringt aber auch Songs hervor, die einfach für sich stehen dürfen. Die Texte enthalten immer einen Funken Biografie, einen Hauch Wahrheit und viel Fantasie. All diese Elemente werden zu klaren Bildern zusammengewebt. Sie sind emotionale Ausgrabungsstätten, die zum Träumen oder Nachdenken einladen. Im besten Fall zu beidem gleichzeitig.