M. William Helfrich is a family man. Signs of his children are all over his first album, Mister Nobody Baby from the drawing by one son printed on the disc itself to the title given to him by another. Around a decade ago Helfrich moved to Portland, OR from Malheur County near the Idaho border and began playing his beautifully sparse songs to small audiences. He was coming into his own as a songwriter around the time he became the father of twins at the seemingly young age of twenty-two. His songs, like himself, matured quickly. Helfrich sometimes made lo-fi recordings at home which he labeled mbilly. His longtime friend Adam Shearer (WEINLAND) encouraged him to perform and often invited him to open for WEINLAND. Shearer and WEINLAND have supported Helfrich not only morally, but musically as well: nearly the entire band appears on Mister Nobody Baby.
The recording for this project started over two years ago when mbilly was recorded live at home by Tara Jane OʼNeil. The next phase began with Shearer recording some of mbilly’s more intimate songs in the comfort of his living room. When finished, this batch of songs was mixed at Portland’s Type
Foundry Studios by Adam Selzer (M. Ward, The Decemberists, Jolie Holland). A third phase of recording took place at Miracle Lake Studio with Skyler Norwood (Blind Pilot, Horse Feathers) who put his detailed touch on the more upbeat songs.
This album was born out of massive amounts of donated time and effort from some of Portland’s best known indie songsters. TJO, Shearer and the rest of WEINLAND make appearances on the record. Ethan Rose, best known for his soundtrack work (Paranoid Park) and a longtime friend of Helfrich, also mixed a track and appears on the song. Alia Farah (The Alialujah Choir), who has sang on countless records, lends her sought-after voice to over half the album. Of note, Norfolk and Western, led by Adam Selzer, released their version of mbilly’s Future Mother on their new record, Dinero Sivero, before Mister Nobody Baby was even printed!
Live mbilly plays solo and with a five piece band made up of various members of Portland’s music community. mbilly has supported shows for the likes of Vetiver, WEINLAND, Michael Hurley, Robbie Fulks, and Retribution Gospel Choir.
Mbilly
The recording for this project started over two years ago when mbilly was recorded live at home by Tara Jane OʼNeil. The next phase began with Shearer recording some of mbilly’s more intimate songs in the comfort of his living room. When finished, this batch of songs was mixed at Portland’s Type
Foundry Studios by Adam Selzer (M. Ward, The Decemberists, Jolie Holland). A third phase of recording took place at Miracle Lake Studio with Skyler Norwood (Blind Pilot, Horse Feathers) who put his detailed touch on the more upbeat songs.
This album was born out of massive amounts of donated time and effort from some of Portland’s best known indie songsters. TJO, Shearer and the rest of WEINLAND make appearances on the record. Ethan Rose, best known for his soundtrack work (Paranoid Park) and a longtime friend of Helfrich, also mixed a track and appears on the song. Alia Farah (The Alialujah Choir), who has sang on countless records, lends her sought-after voice to over half the album. Of note, Norfolk and Western, led by Adam Selzer, released their version of mbilly’s Future Mother on their new record, Dinero Sivero, before Mister Nobody Baby was even printed!
Live mbilly plays solo and with a five piece band made up of various members of Portland’s music community. mbilly has supported shows for the likes of Vetiver, WEINLAND, Michael Hurley, Robbie Fulks, and Retribution Gospel Choir.
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