DAMIEN RICE
"Music enables me to cleanse and shed the things that I feel are holding me back from growing, or growing up."
DAMIEN RICE
Damien Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Rice began his musical career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, which were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success with a couple of single releases, but a projected album floundered because of record company politics. After leaving the band he worked as a farmer in Tuscany and busked throughout Europe before returning to Ireland in 2001 and beginning a solo musical career. In 2002 his debut album O reached No. 8 on the UK albums chart, won the Shortlist Music Prize and generated three top-30 singles in the UK
Damien Rice's music is a staple in my daily life. Rarely does a day go by without listening to it. There is a sorrowful timid nature in me that his songs bring to the front. He was the first artist whom I heard sing with such gentleness and show me that it is just as important to express your soft side, as it is to hone your technique and project.
There is a raw beauty to his music that makes me nostalgic for something that I can't put my fingers on. I have grown to have a deep love for string instruments, especially the cello from Rice's records. There really isn't a song he has ever sung that I don't drink up. He is a natural heartfelt story teller.