Perhaps it's simplest to state that Christian Kiefer mines the same landscape as Califone, Iron & Wine, and Nick Cave. It's folk music of a sort--minor key compositions that that veer from singer-songwriter fare to rich, sonically interesting soundscapes and spurred one reviewer to call Kiefer "the inventor of the country ambient." Kiefer lives in Northern California with him family and holds a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of California, Davis. This academic background weighs heavily on his musical projects, not the least of which is his latest: Dogs & Donkeys, a narrative album that tells the intertwined stories of people wracked by forces out of their control. Currently in the works is a triple CD collection titled "Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs about 43 U.S. Presidencies" with guests including Califone, Rosie Thomas, Alan Sparkhawk, and Mark Kozelek, among many others.
http://2008.sxsw.com/music/showcases/band/69177.html
