A poet like Dylan,a rebel like Marley and the haunting voice
of an fallen angel.Chris Criminal sows the seeds.

10 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Folk Rock, POP: with Live-band Production



Details:
Hi, Let me introduce my self.

My name is Chris Criminal, singer-songwriter.
I am thirty-three and was born and raised in rural Switzerland. Having a happy childhood in a safe and simple environment, as I approached my teens, a sense of unease descended on me. I stopped listening to teachers, economically institutionalized adults and phoney politicians who were (and sadly still are !) more interested in their own agendas.

Artists like Dylan, Marley, The Stones, Hendrix and Pink Floyd became my new teachers. I remember hearing Bob Dylan's recording of "Blowing in the wind" for the first time. Although still an alien to the English language, I knew instantly what this guy was singing about!
Dylan's honesty and truth touched me in a profound way. Although not necessarily a happy song, an instant peace and understanding came over me: I wasn't alone.
It,s ok, and yes there,s always hope. The magic of a truly great song! Soon I was playing bass and guitar in varies bands, experiencing the thrill of playing live: The penultimate!

Then, in my early twenties things changed for good. On tour in England with a group called "Nanina Ghelfi Band", I found my soul mate and future wife Laura. Love at first sight exists, believe me! To cut a long story short, time flew by. We lived several years in the U.K. and I happily absorbed the language and culture like a sponge. My song writing blossomed and before long I was performing with various musicians in many venues. It was a crazy, but happy time! Yet when we got the opportunity to renovate an old barn in switzerland, with the promise of plenty of time and space, we didn't hesitate.

Lets just say, we had ups and downs. I got sidetracked for a few seasons, discovering my green fingers and an overwhelming passion for growing weed! The barn made a beautiful home and the garden felt like paradise. I had the time of my life watching my baby's emerge, grow and finally pass on! Probably just to good to last, narrow minds poisoned by jealousy called the authorities, who in turn destroyed my beautiful garden and later on declared us as illegal residents in our barn! Maybe just as well; I like to think of it as destinies way of telling me to finally get on with my music, which is exactly what I am doing!


about mankind

Forced into early retirement as a grower, I found comfort once again in music. After purchasing home studio equipment, I set myself up in a former pigeon- house and began recording "mankind", Chris Criminal's and the good seeds first CD.
Having had not much experience in sound engineering and a very small budget, I knew I had a huge mountain to climb. Learning by doing, I programmed basic drum tracks, fitting the layout and tempo of each song. After adding guitar tracks, pilot vocals and bass, a drummer played to this demo and replaced the ones I,d made. On top of this foundation I put layers of tracks till I was satisfied with the result. After ten months I was ready for mixing and mastering. As straight forwards as this sounds, it certainly proved to be a tough challenge, but the "baby" turned out to be healthy and weighs ten tracks!

All songs have been performed live previously, (with or without band) and interpreted in different arrangements. Being quite well travelled and considering myself a world citizen, I'm influenced by many different cultures and sounds. Music is a universal language and there's no reason to stop on your own door step.
Living in a time of globalization, I wanted a world music approach mixed with folk and rock roots. Blessed with the creative input of the good seeds, (great musicians and friends) and my own experience, I believe I succeeded in giving each song an individual and personal arrangement.
Much consideration went into the choice and order of the songs, as I wanna take the listener on a journey through the album. If I had to label this production, I would probably put it somewhere between progressive singer-songwriter and global folk rock. The lyrics will speak for themselves.