Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Australian independent musician, Tessa Lee, is set to make her mark on the aussie music scene with “WARM ORANGE GLOW,” her first full-length album of original music. Tessa was a nominee in the Western Australian Music Industry’s coveted Song of The Year with her song “Out of The Night.” Firmly planted in the folk tradition of story-telling, her songwriting also successfully fuses elements from the blues, pop, country and jazz traditions, making "Warm Orange Glow," a slow walk down a winding country road on an early spring morning, where all five senses are engaged. First time round, the tunes are catchy and wonderfully simple, whilst on the second and subsequent hearings, you’ll find more layers of rich texture and lush sonic treats which will keep this recording on your stereo for months after you bought it. Tessa’s sultry vocal tones soar and float above the dynamic background provided by the thick, solid sounds of double bassist Sam Anning, drummer Greg Brenton, electric guitarist Tim Jago and pianist James Hunt. With material ranging from danceable country blues and phat reggae romps to the most heart wrenching love-gone-wrong ballads, and the occasional political statement, “Warm Orange Glow,” … is a formidable first release from a promising young artist. - November 2005
"She brought down the house..."
-Gord Milne, Sunnybrae Coffee House, April, 2006, B.C
"Absolutey magnetic."
-Francois Cote, Deep Roots Music Festival.
- various
Discography
"Warm Orange Glow" (Perth, Australia, 2005).
featuring Sam Anning (dble bass), Greg Brenton (drums), James Hunt (keys) and Tim Jago (electric guitar). FEATURE LENGTH ALBUM
AVAILABLE AT www.tessalee.info
"Chuckin' A Sickie On Da Westsyde," 2006 EP.
Featuring Tessa Lee (acoustic and electric guitar, flute and vocals.)
ONLY AVAILABLE AT SHOWS!
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Think folky in the storytelling sense, think bluesy in the emotional sense, think gutsy in the political sense and you've got a rough sketch of the independent Australian singer/songwriter, Tessa Lee. Then of course there's the various pop, reggae, rock and funk influences which will help complete the soundwave. If genres aren't your thing however, take Duke Ellington's word for it that, "There are only two types of music: good and bad." Then take our word for it that this is damn good music.
Hailing from the south-west Victorian coastal town of Barwon Heads, Tessa began writing songs as soon as she first picked up a guitar. With music flowing through her veins, she up and moved across the continent to study jazz at the prestigious Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, graduating in 2004 with a Bachelor of Music (Jazz/Flute).
With no time to spare, she set about recording and co-producing her first original, independent release in the winter of 2005. "Warm Orange Glow" was launched in November 2005 to critical acclaim: Lee's song "Out of The Night," (a folk ballad, set in Fremantle, WA) earnt her a nomination at The 2005 Western Australian Music Industry's annual Song Of The Year award for Best World/Folk Song.
In support of "Warm Orange Glow," Lee gained an ArtsWA grant and toured Victoria and appeared at The Folk, Rhythm and Life Festival in Wangaratta, in December 2005. Previous shows during 2005 include supporting Kate Ceberano, Jules (The Panics), and appearing at the Denmark Festival of Voice.
During 2006, Lee spent the last ten months touring and travelling (by van, plane and bicycle!) across Canada, playing shows from the western mountains of British Columbia to the eastern coastal tips of Nova Scotia. The "bootleg" EP "Chuckin' A Sickie on Da Westsyde," (recorded at Tone Deaf Productions, Kamloops, B.C.) was concieved as a result of these shananigans. The musical mecca of Montreal has recently drawn her in and she has begun to put down roots in the great north's european city, where a sub-zero winter promises to spark creativity...
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