| ARTISTS - DAMIEN RICE |
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Artist Info:
Damien Rice is an Irish born singer songwriter whose debut album, O, is out now on 14th Floor Records.
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| BIOGRAPHY |
One of Damien Rice’s strengths is his ability to create that feeling of intimacy in a room utterly full of listeners. His performances are at once serious and informal and unpretentious.
Born in Dublin, Rice first encountered his muse as a teenager. ‘The time the music came into my life was when my elder sister had a boyfriend who played guitar. I picked up the guitar at that time, and once I had something to play while I was singing, it just never stopped.’
Rice became the lead singer of Juniper. The band signed with PolyGram, but Juniper’s music wasn’t exactly his thing, so he left the band and spent eight months bussing around Europe, eventually returning to Ireland to start gigging in his own right.
David Arnold offered the use of AIR Studios in London, but in his characteristic single-mindedness, Rice chose to record in his bedroom instead. The results are exactly what one hears on O.
At nearly double-Platinum status in his native Ireland, Rice has received three nominations in the 2003 Meteor Ireland Music Awards. In the UK, critics heaped praised on the album and this year Rice has sold out the Union Chapel and Shepherds Bush Empire. Since well before the US release of O, Rice has been selling-out shows at prestigious venues across the States.
Rice is deliberate about his art, and it’s increasingly rewarding. Still, he maintains a commitment to spontaneity, improvisation and living in the moment. Each show is different from the last, and he never plays a song the same way twice. “The crowds are coming and that’s exciting,” he says. “On the other hand, it creates a bigger expectation to deliver something, and a bigger challenge not to think about delivering anything.”
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