|
Carmen Fraser
Victorian singer/songwriter Carmen Fraser has the ability to hold an audience captive with her distinctively unique voice and the way she conveys emotion through her songs. The Mansfield girl has been a passionate singer since she could talk, and discovered her love for songwriting at age nine when after being stranded in a far paddock after the motorbike ran out of fuel, she crafted her first well written song while walking back.
Growing up listening to her parents' record collection including Bruce Springsteen, Carole King, Whitney Houston, Kenny Rogers and Garth Brooks amongst many others, Carmen developed an unshakeable obsession with emotive music. Despite graduating high school with the International Baccalaureate Diploma and a TER of 97.45, the pull towards playing and writing songs was so strong that there was never really a choice. Fraser is a dynamic alt. country performer with the ability to transform life experiences into a lyrical poem, delivering a flawless performance from the opening line. The influence those great singer songwriters have had on her is evident in her well crafted lyrics and stirring melodies.
"I tend to write songs whenever I feel an emotion strongly - whether it be love, excitement, regret or hope... and I often think those songs just about write themselves. I've always thought that music is so powerful in that it can uplift people, be thought-provoking and inspiring, and it really excites me that I'm lucky enough to continually listen to, create, explore and practise it" she explains.
After school Carmen had a year working at Timbertop (Yr 9 campus of Geelong Grammar) as the music and running assistant, working on songs, and has definitely been 'paying her dues', having spent three winter seasons up at Mt Buller with residencies at the Mt Buller Chalet and other venues, playing four nights a week. Other residencies include 5-star hotels in Melbourne: The Grand, and the Sofitel. In 2006 Carmen did some shows on behalf of the Jimmy Little Foundation in the Northern Territory, and supported GANGgajang at The Tivoli in Brisbane, the Basement in Sydney and Manchester Lane in Melbourne, and also played the World Aids Day Concert in Federation Square in Melbourne.
In 2008 she attended the prestigious CMAA College of Country music, and throughout the rest of the year, while studying Politics and Creative Writing at Melbourne University, continued to hone and develop her skills, playing gigs on the weekends and writing songs for the album. The self funded debut album Silhouette was recorded in Melbourne by ARIA award-winning producer Paul Wiltshire, and contains twelve original songs - the pick of six years worth of writing.
The first two singles off the album, "32 Days" and "Wild Dog Creek", have been very well received on radio, and the debut video clip, "32 Days", made it comfortably into the Top 30 of the CMC Countdown. With recent supports of the likes of Bobby Flynn and Grace Knight, and multiple festival appearances imminent and the recent release of her Silhouette on October 10, audiences and industry professionals alike agree that Fraser is an undeniable force to be reckoned with, and from the response to the first two singles it is destined to be a huge success.
"She is the young talent who has huge potential" - Richard Wilkins, Today Show Nine TV Network
'She's a rising young talent... determined to make it to the top and according to old hands in the industry she may well have just what is takes to get there..." - Kerry O'Brien, The 7.30 Report, ABC TV Network
|
