LISTEN: An audio introduction from the artist.
A Book About Elephants is not a book about elephants. It is a collection of musical happenings by Christina Tsui. The oldest of three sisters, Christina grew up in the sprawling suburbia of southern California, in a town infamous for the rows and rows of flashy bridal shops that line its otherwise conservative main street. There among the big picture windows, encasing endless backlit portraits of extravagantly-dressed, half-smiling brides and grooms, Christina found home in her mother’s cooking, buckwheat pillows, handball, and illustrated books about talking animals.
A good slice of her life was spent reading and admiring the watercolor pages of such children’s books as Maurice Sendak’s “Little Bear” and Jean de Brunhoff’s “The Story of Babar,” from which the name ‘A Book About Elephants’ draws partial inspiration. (She also thinks elephants are just really cute.) Christina approaches songwriting much like these books approach storytelling–relying on personal experience, imagery, and small stretches of the imagination to create something simple and close to the heart. With the help of one Podington Bear and his ear for lush, delicate instrumentals, A Book About Elephants is ready to take its music out of the bare-bones bedroom-“studio” and into your ears.
1. It’s Cold in This House
2. Copper Kettles
3. Summer From Your Comfort Chair
4. Wish & Well
5. Face First, Feet First
