South African singer-songwriter and pianist representing SA in NY, one of the finest in the serious adult scene, covering many musical styles, ballads, pop, jazz, folk, musictheatre. Works of art, telling deeply personal and entertaining stories, quirky a

13 MP3 Songs
EASY LISTENING: Mature, FOLK: Modern Folk



Details:
This leaves me speechless. A top-end professionally
crafted piece. It exists with a sense of timelessness that would maintain a long shelflife without going stale. His art is so beyond contemporary trend. One of the finest singer/songwriters in the serious adult scene.
Billy Shaw, Sonicbids, August 3, 2005

Thomas Channell displays an infectious quality that is also vibrantly intelligent. Even his voice sounds just a little bit different, more emotive than your average super ambitious musical prodigy.
Peter Tromp, The Cape Times, July 2, 2004

Thomas Channell shines as the narrator and lead singer. His voice is tremendous.
Rafiek Mammon, The Cape Argus, June 18, 2004

Biography
+ South African singer-songwriter Thomas Channell was born in Sydney, Australia, but grew up in Stellenbosch, close to Cape Town. His songs are poetic narratives on South African themes and characters, as well as universal struggles. The music is a rollercoaster of minimalism and richness, tragedy and comedy, over rivers of euro-african harmony. He is a classically trained pianist with a voice full of life, and studied music and acting at the University of Stellenbosch and Columbia University. He is a versatile performer who sings, plays piano, acts, writes music, lyrics and plays, and even dances (if need be). He has performed at all the major arts festivals in South Africa, as well as in Berlin, New York and Mexico City. His first album "Crowded Sunrise" was released to great critical acclaim in South Africa in 2004 and he has been building up a loyal following in New York, headlining The Songwriterâs Beat at Cornelia Street Café and headlining CBGBâs Gallery to a full house. Other major venues include The Knitting Factory, Lincoln Center, R&R Bar and Caffe Vivaldi. His song "I have my reasosn, but reason isn't one of them" also made the semi-finals of the UK Songwriting Competition in 2005.

Previous productions include: the music theatre piece "Die Hangkas Haas" about homosexual life in pre- and post-apartheid South Africa, the award-winning "Tango del Fuego" (under Marthinus Basson), and "Baas en Klaas". As producer, writer, composer and performer of Baas en Klaas (Master and Servant) with Bongile Mantsai, Thomas has been involved in taking theatre and music to the underprivileged communities of South Africa by performing free of charge in rural areas of the Cape Province. The production tackled the issue of race relations in the âNot-So-New South Africaâ in a no-nonsense, politically incorrect, human and humorous way and was performed at the Klein-Karoo National Arts Festival, Bloemfontein, the Voorbrandfees and the Olympia Theatre. He also produced the play Die Van Aardes van Grootoor by anti-apartheid playwright Pieter-Dirk Uys for the Klein-Karoo and Suidooster Festivals in 2004.

Website
http://www.thomaschannell.com
EPK
http://www.sonicbids.com/thomaschannell
Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/thomaschannell

Discography
The Album
+ The music from Thomas Channell's album "Crowded Sunrise" ranges from calm ballades, to a pop-duet, rock, jazz, musictheatre, and has a very original sound. It is in English and Afrikaans. Collaborators on the album include Mario Cronje, Lise Swart and Tinus van Dyk. The songs are about relationships, but never soppy, about issues, but with a unique sense of humour and poetry. They draw on personal relationships and experiences, from travelling to working for Rape Crisis as counsellor. The production is very tasteful, and highly integrated between the lyrics, the music and its arrangement.