Hemlock Smith
Hemlock Smith is the project of singer/songwriter Michael Frei, who is currently living in Lausanne, Switzerland. Somewhere between rock, folk, pop and jazz, he
31
songs
508
plays
This part of Tennesse This part of Tennesse
Superhero vs the invisible inc Superhero vs the invisible inc
The unbearable silence of the clams The unbearable silence of the clams
Steam Steam
No return no escape No return no escape
Show all (31)
Albums
Michael Frei (Songs and Vocals):
Born in 1966 in the German part of Switzerland, he discovers the French language at the age of 10 when his family moves to Montreux.
An only and solitary child, he reads and writes a lot. The shock of a new culture only increases his feeling to be « different » from the other kids, and so he tries to express his alienation through poems and songs. Maybe because none of the two languages he’s confronted with is really his own, he naturally chooses English when he starts to write pop tunes.
Since 1984, he’s played in a bunch of rock bands, first as a drummer and then, unavoidably, as a singer.
His first serious project, KÃFKÃ CiTy, is born in 1989 when he meets Jacques Bevilacqua, the guitarist who has been with him ever since. The band makes two records, tours in Germany and Switzerland and splits in 1994.
He then starts to write words for other artists, tries to make a living and, in 1998, forms another band (Greenhouse Effect) that is still active today. Hemlock Smith is his solo project, planned for a long time.
The first album, released in 2002, is a collection of weird pop songs, built upon loops and enriched with ambient sounds and noises.
The new record though, scheduled for a 2006 release, is an attempt to play simple songs in a simple fashion, to capture the groove and magic of a recording session, often on the first take. It was mostly recorded over a 5-day period and embraces new influences, like folk, soul and jazz, that hadn’t been apparent in his music beforeâ€
He lives in Lausanne, Switzerland, is married and father of two.Band/artist history
Hemlock Smith is the project of singer/songwriter Michael Frei, who is currently living in Lausanne, Switzerland. Somewhere between rock, folk, pop and jazz, he tells some dark tales, but with the distance of irony and the weary warmth of a man who has lived them. His soft voice is a song of night, sometimes just a murmur, a relic from a distant dream.
After a first record (A secret life, 2002) , which has gathered wide critical acclaim and has been distributed in Europe and South America, the long wait is now being justified by the arrival of the second album, « Umbrella Fitz & Gerald » (to be released in September, in Switzerland and Benelux), because it’s a small treasure box full of odd pop songs, a mixture between methodical construction and orchestrated hazard.
Recorded almost totally live by a quartet with a jazz and pop focus, several added elements (like a string quartet or a blues dobro) make this a very personal, diverse and original experience. The record has been mixed in Los Angeles (by Husky HÃskulds, who has worked with Tom Waits, Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, Aimee Mann, Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke, among othersâ€) and masterised in Paris to guarantee optimal sound quality, dynamic and width.
In concert, Hemlock Smith is a quartet, also featuring Jacques Bevilacqua (guitar), Fabrizio Di Donato (keyboards, vocals) and GÃrald Rochat (drums), and they always seem to manage a balance between subdued poetry and absolute rage. The music gains added strength through images from swiss creators and moviemakers that are projected simultaneously, creating a very particular universe.Have you performed in front of an audience?Yes... mostly in Europe... Belgium, Switzerland...
but we'd like to play anywhere...
Your musical influences
Mark Hollis, Talk Talk, J.J.Cale, Tom Waits, Talking Heads, ...What equipment do you use?
Guitars, keyboards, drums and vocalsAnything else?
Visit our site : www.hemlocksmith.ch
Leave a comment here and on our myspace :
www.myspace.com/hemlocksmith
Lausanne,
Switzerland
ID
645172
Contact
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Comments (2)
A unique style and unusual track. Excellent work and very well performed and mixed.
How come there's no lyric for this song? I like "Julie" very much, is it possible to post it on the page? Or send it to me?
Cheers
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