Chris Anderson & Thomas Hien: voices, guitars, banjo, Dobro, mandolin, piano, the odd foot tapping and the old chair creaking. Brother Fate: our dear old friendship.
Influences: bob dylan, joan baez singing dylan songs, simon and garfunkel, nick drake, the beatles, john martyn, leonard cohen, neil young, crosby stills & nash, cat stevens, johnny cash, early bluesy elvis presley, old delta blues and bluegrass of all sorts, kieran kane and kevin welch, emmy lou harris, j. j. cale, old chant music from around the globe, much music from the continent of africa, blind willie johnson, the wainright family (rufus wainwright, louden wainwright III, martha wainwright), the standards when sung by billie holiday, ella fitzgerald, madeleine peyroux, dinah washington or chet baker, tom waits, vashti bunyon, fairport convention, mississippi john hurt, nina simone, queen, jeff buckley, the andrews sisters, bulgarian women's choir, bach, beethoven, chopin, debussy, philip glass, steve reich, gavin bryars, terry reilly, arvo part, gorecki, high energy wild klezmer music, paul brady, the chieftens, benny goodman, gypsie music, django reinhardt, old and contemporary tango music from argentina, astor piazolla, the comedian harmonists, alexi murdoch, pedestrian, jesca hoop, regina spektor, scott joplin and all that old ragtime sound, george gershwin, irving berlin, cole porter, the kinks, george harrison, ravi shankar and the stuff they play in indian restaurants (no intended insult to ravi, just our own lack of taste), the hum of nature against the busy city, joshua tree national park and the rabbits of white tank, the yips and howls of coyotes in the night, shooting stars, yosemite, big sequoia forests, cool oceans with sunny beaches, dynamic people past and present.
Sounds Like
PRESS
"Rarely have two musical hearts so beat as one...Land of Sea is a timeless set."
-All Music Guide (AMG)
"Their voices fuse like twins on this excellent debut…evocative and impressive stuff."
-Mojo Magazine
“One of my favorite indie releases of the year.”
-Nic Harcourt, 89.9 KCRW Los Angeles
“If you thought West Coast harmony singing went out of fashion with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, think again. Breezing in with a ravishing exhibition of acoustic loveliness come chris and thomas, two ultra talented dudes with mellow voices that complement each other perfectly.”
-The Sun (UK)
“If you like to hear instruments well played, and thoughtful, well-written lyrics backed by tuneful melodies and solid rhythms, there can be few better groups to see than chris and thomas.”
-Susan Mansfield, The Scotsman (Edinburgh Festival Review)
“chris and thomas were f*%ing excellent. I was blown away.”
-Mark Hutner, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
“unconventional lyrics and expert harmonies - chris & thomas emerge as artists to keep your eye on.”
-Mare Wakefield, Performing Songwriter Magazine
“You'll hear what they did, it's just so, so lovely.”
-Alexi Murdoch, Singer-Songwriter
With sounds gathered from the landscapes of the American Southwest, chris and thomas’ music could just as easily find its home in the rainy hills of the early 1970’s English countryside. Combining American roots instrumentation with soothing vocal harmonies, the duo’s rustic sounds and heartfelt songs are filled with thoughtful lyricism.
chris and thomas became close friends at the historic art school in Liverpool where John Lennon and Paul McCartney had met up decades before. During their student years they found themselves in the bohemian surrounds of a group of painters, sculptors, renegades, holy men and metaphysical explorers who had made up much of Liverpool’s underground. They played the drunken Irish pubs till the sun shone and they sang for the Queen while they earned music degrees in film composition.
In the late 90’s the two had created “Cook Au Van,” a traveling cooking show. The vehicle for the show was literally an old gas board utility van that they had converted into a five star restaurant. Made from exquisite found objects, the van boasted water fountains, changing works of art and a fully functional wet bar. Inside the van, they hosted dinner parties for the Lord Mayor and countless British celebrities. After doing the circus lifestyle with the traveling restaurant and cooking for the likes of Jarvis Cocker, Bill Drummond, politicians and fine artists, the two had decided to turn back to their true love of music.
In 2003 chris and thomas arrived in Los Angeles, California. The duo’s live debut was on 11/18/03, opening up at the Hotel Café for singer/ songwriter Alexi Murdoch. Their unique live performance which involved playing with one condenser microphone and gathering around it like some modern day Carter Family, quickly earned chris and thomas a name on the L.A club circuit.
That was just the beginning. Returning from a weekend in Joshua Tree, the two were greeted by multiple phone messages from excited friends who had heard their song “Take These Thoughts” on L.A.’s influential NPR station KCRW. It was news to the pair. Their EP, Vista Street Sessions, was passed on by a mutual friend to the station’s tastemaker DJ /music director Nic Harcourt. Harcourt programmed the disc on his show, eventually included it on NPR’s syndicated Sounds Eclectic, which introduced a national audience to chris and thomas. Since then a lot has happened.
On air performances on KCRW and other radio stations followed with appearances at SXSW and other venues and festivals throughout the country. More radio stations have added chris and thomas to their playlists as their fan base continues to grow in the U.S., in continental Europe and in the UK.
“Take These Thoughts” recently won best song of the year in the Americana category at the Independent Music Awards 2006. The duo’s full length debut Land Of Sea was recorded with renowned producer/engineer Mark Howard (Bob Dylan, U2, Tom Waits). Howard, who used to work with producer Daniel Lanois for over ten years, has a very unique way of recording. He rented out an old soundstage in Hollywood the size of Abbey Road Studios, where he set up vintage recording equipment, Persian rugs, Victorian lamps and brought in legendary musicians to accompany chris and thomas on their record.
The record was first released in the UK in 2006 in conjunction with a 5 week tour and has gained critical acclaim and rave reviews (4 stars and runner up to album of the month in MOJO Magazine).
The US release includes the bonus track "Horse In The Sky". The song, penned by chris and thomas and Oscar nominated composer John Debney, is featured in the end credits of Garry Marshall’s new film Georgia Rule starring Lindsey Lohan and Jane Fonda.
chris and thomas’ woven harmonies and sparse instrumentation will make you think of big skies with small clouds.
So I just moved to PA from LA, completely not knowing about you guys at all... Then I was randomly at an open mic night at Milkboy in Ardmore the other night, and I picked up one of your free cd's. Needless to say, you guys are kind of my favorite right now, not gonna lie. I can't wait to see you on the 12th!
Have a whiskey knocking and swimsuit dropping weekend!!! If you're opposed to drinking and running around naked then have a guitar slinging and pocket change jingling weekend!!!
Apside will be performing live this upcoming Friday night July 10 at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco- check us out if you're in town, hope to see you there :)
Just wanted to stop by and say thanks and to let you know we posted the final mixes for "The Nickajack EP (Part One)" today. We'd love it if you stopped in for a listen and let us know what you think.
