He is a singer-songwriter out of Oakdale, California. Emerging as one the new millennium folkies alongside Jack Johnson and James Blunt, he has been compared to Bob Dylan, James Taylor, and Paul Simon, all of whom he credits as being significant influences on his musical career. His first album is the self-titled "Brett Dennen“, which was released in 2004. His second album "So Much More“ includes the singles "Ain't No Reason" and "The One Who Loves You the Most" as iTunes top downloads in the days following the album's release in November 2006. With his music featured in the hit television show Grey's Anatomy and commercials pitching cable services, millions of people have already heard snippets of Brett's music.
With a voice that has could be compared to Billie Holiday's and a unique style emphasizing simplicity, the themes he sings about are as old as Woody Guthrie but with clever ironic phrasing and indelible impressions of prophets begging on sidewalks and old ladies on fire escapes cursing his name. Perhaps his inspiration is visual: he is reported to be a very talented visual artist and his work beautifies the artwork of his two commercially released albums. He credits Paul Simon's Graceland of getting into his head at a young age when his parents played it constantly. He is an admirer of the two "Bob's", Bob Dylan and Bob Marley. He also cites Joni Mitchell's Blue as one of his major influences.
Current CD: „So Much More“, 2006
www.brettdennen.com
It all began for Burrell with what has become a perennial hit on the radio-waves – "Favorite Waste of Time" – and the follow-up album – "Hello, Hello, Hello" looks set to be just as popular.
Reto, Rob, C.C. and Toby are four absolute music addicts who teamed up to celebrate all that is typically American about the rock music of today. This Swiss/US crossover may sound about as convincing as a donut fondue, but Burrell, whose music sounds like a mixture of Train and U2, know how to turn a contradictory idea into an innovative one. The band continue to grow musically and their sound is currently a great deal more mature. They know how to take everyday events and set them to intelligent, soulful and moving arrangements, weaving rich yet dynamic musical tapestries, and the album has nothing to envy any of the bigger international productions.
Those who did not realise it before will have no doubt once Burrell take to the stage – these four guys are incredibly talented musicians. And you can certainly tell that they are just as at home on stage as in the studio – and as if to dispel any doubts, the first single from the new album - "You And Me Tonight" – is all about performing live.
Current CD: „Hello, Hello, Hello”, 2006
www.burrell.ch
The figures speak for themselves – in a career spanning 16 albums and counting, and with sales of over 45 million, Chris de Burgh has gone gold or platinum on 300 occasions and garnered over 50 awards. He has made 3000 live appearances since first taking to the stage in 1975, and has had a loyal following of fans for over three decades ever since.
"The Storyman" is the most immediately identifiable album in the long and illustrious career of Chris de Burgh. Vivid story-making has, after all, always been at the very core of his worldwide success. Whether his lyrical – and musical – themes have tackled love and loss or been set against imaginative backdrops created from the past, present or future, the telling of tales is his special gift. Across more than three decades now, Chris’s extensive repertoire of songs has taken his audience on travels through continents, cultures and centuries - in cinematic proportion. Such is the inspiration behind the concept of "The Storyman". "From the moment the overture music of the album begins, I am inviting the listener to join me on a journey through space and time," Chris explains, "to faraway lands and places, where the tales and dramas will unfold."
"My hope is that each person who listens will let themselves believe that they are in a cinema; the lights go down as the overture of "The Storyman Theme“ starts to play," says Chris. "I’d like them then to simply drift away into the world of their imagination, where dreams begin - and anything is possible!"
Current CD: "The Storyman", 2007
www.cdeb.com
When a Swiss singer/songwriter goes to London and spends entire days in the underground recording noises, then goes into pre-production in Bristol before recording on Mont Soleil, what is he trying to achieve? The answer: a city sound combined with a down-to-earth feeling. These were Roth's main priorities throughout the whole production process, but it also entailed a risk that was impossible to quantify at the outset. "I had no idea how I'd be able to bridge the gap between the two concepts. All I knew was that it was an idea that I really wanted to implement." Once he had filled his musical tank with sounds from England, J.D. Roth took a small group of musicians and a technical crew to the Bern/Jura area to lay down the basis for "invitation", in a recording studio based in a converted farmhouse. J.D. Roth is a wily producer, who manages to make sure that he never gets caught up tinkering too much in the arrangements - as he himself says, the song itself always has to be the main issue.
When he performs live, J.D. Roth gets back to basics. A slimmed-down line-up of Christoph Steiner (drums, backing vocals), Dave Demuth (bass, backing vocals) and Roth himself (guitar, lead vocals) gives "invitation" a new energy – the trio plays honest-to-goodness music, and they have a damn good time while they're at it.
Current CD: „invitation“, 2006
www.jdroth.ch
The figures speak for themselves – in a career spanning 16 albums and counting, and with sales of over 45 million, Chris de Burgh has gone gold or platinum on 300 occasions and garnered over 50 awards. He has made 3000 live appearances since first taking to the stage in 1975, and has had a loyal following of fans for over three decades ever since.
"The Storyman" is the most immediately identifiable album in the long and illustrious career of Chris de Burgh. Vivid story-making has, after all, always been at the very core of his worldwide success. Whether his lyrical – and musical – themes have tackled love and loss or been set against imaginative backdrops created from the past, present or future, the telling of tales is his special gift. Across more than three decades now, Chris’s extensive repertoire of songs has taken his audience on travels through continents, cultures and centuries - in cinematic proportion. Such is the inspiration behind the concept of "The Storyman". "From the moment the overture music of the album begins, I am inviting the listener to join me on a journey through space and time," Chris explains, "to faraway lands and places, where the tales and dramas will unfold."
"My hope is that each person who listens will let themselves believe that they are in a cinema; the lights go down as the overture of "The Storyman Theme“ starts to play," says Chris. "I’d like them then to simply drift away into the world of their imagination, where dreams begin - and anything is possible!"
Current CD: "The Storyman", 2007
www.cdeb.com
After an early career of decidedly mixed highlights, Starsailor have established a loyal fan base that recognizes them for what they are: a band that's been around, suffered the slings and arrows, and crafts songs that go deep. They know about lyrics, and so do their fans. Watching a sell-out crowd sing along, word-perfect to "Fever“, "Alcoholic“, "Lullaby“, "Good Souls“; to "Silence is Easy“, "Four to the Floor“ and "Music Was Saved“, is a conflicting experience. It’s an impressive back catalogue, no question. But it’s also, potentially, a burden. How, a band might be tempted to ask themselves, do we possibly follow that?
Well they've followed with "On the Outside", an album which proves emphatically, triumphantly, that they are on the road to greater things. These 11 new tracks, and the confidence and verve with which they dispatch them, sound like the work of a band entering a recording studio for the first time. It’s as if some invisible force has added a thickening agent to the pot. The Starsailor you hear on "On the Outside“ are four people reconnecting themselves and us with what caused all the excitement at the start of their career.
They’ve come through the highs and the lows, the limelight and the shadows, the self-belief and the doubt, to produce their finest set of songs to date. Honest, furious, impassioned and urgent. It's as if Starsailor have rediscovered what made them become what they are in the first place.
Current CD: „On The Outside“, 2006
www.starsailor.net
As she looks to the future, Suzanne Vega thinks it's a good time to recap on what she's done. Initially rejected by every major record company, she went on to usher in female, acoustic, folk-pop singer-songwriter movement that would include the likes of Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin, and Indigo Girls as well as the Lilith Fair phenomenon. Her "Luka" hit #3 pop in 1987, earning her three Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year.
Suzanne began playing guitar at 11 and writing songs as a teenager. While still at college, she played folk festivals and lower East Side coffeehouses and after graduation in 1982 was the local folk scene's greatest hope. There then followed a career that saw her hit the top but forced into semi-reclusion, mainly because of the preconceptions that dogged her work.
"I’ve left no stone unturned," she says. "This idea that I’m a fragile waif falls by the wayside when anyone listens to the range of subject matter and style. There is soft and hard, sexy and abrasive, traditional and experimental. My voice is very simple and because of that it fits into different atmospheres, can take on what people might not expect."
And now she's back. “It's an interesting time”, says Vega. “I have a bunch of songs percolating. Maybe it’s a chance to reinvent myself."
We'll see: Suzanne recently signed to Blue Note Records and expects to release a new album in 2007.
(By arrangement with Solo)
www.suzannevega.com
As she looks to the future, Suzanne Vega thinks it's a good time to recap on what she's done. Initially rejected by every major record company, she went on to usher in female, acoustic, folk-pop singer-songwriter movement that would include the likes of Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin, and Indigo Girls as well as the Lilith Fair phenomenon. Her "Luka" hit #3 pop in 1987, earning her three Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year.
Suzanne began playing guitar at 11 and writing songs as a teenager. While still at college, she played folk festivals and lower East Side coffeehouses and after graduation in 1982 was the local folk scene's greatest hope. There then followed a career that saw her hit the top but forced into semi-reclusion, mainly because of the preconceptions that dogged her work.
"I’ve left no stone unturned," she says. "This idea that I’m a fragile waif falls by the wayside when anyone listens to the range of subject matter and style. There is soft and hard, sexy and abrasive, traditional and experimental. My voice is very simple and because of that it fits into different atmospheres, can take on what people might not expect."
And now she's back. “It's an interesting time”, says Vega. “I have a bunch of songs percolating. Maybe it’s a chance to reinvent myself."
We'll see: Suzanne recently signed to Blue Note Records and expects to release a new album in 2007.
(By arrangement with Solo)
www.suzannevega.com
Born in Barbados, William White started writing and singing his own songs at the age of 12. Inspired by Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke and others, he developed his own brand of country music with gritty lyrics and gained stage practice with an a cappella combo.
After arriving in Switzerland aged 19, he was soon singing in and writing songs for up to four bands at once, playing everything from reggae to funk, rock to punk and folk; William had found his calling and quit his studies.
As front man of Liz Libido, he gained a growing following, doing gigs at Montreux and St. Gallen, and establishing the band as super tight and a great live act.
Following the breakup of Liz Libido, William is ready to go solo and his new album has generated amazing feedback. His career has skyrocketed with three big singles, and tours in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. These included gigs at all Switzerland's big festivals and clubs. Following an appearance at the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, Holland, William White and the Emergency received numerous offers from labels, booking agencies, festivals and clubs in France, Holland, Germany and Austria.
For May 2007 the band is planning to release an EP (we call it BOOTLEGone) with new songs for the Radios, live recordings from the festival season 2006 as well as some special and as yet unreleased material for our fans.
Current CD: "Undone", 2005
www.williamwhite.ch