Kotadama

KOTADAMA

Are

Chris Brown - lead vocalist and guitarist

Evan Brown - drums

Clint Fish – keyboards, Guitar and backing vocals

Kane Burns - bass guitar

Brothers, Chris Brown (lead vocalist and guitarist) and Evan Brown (drums) have done things that most young men of their age rarely dream of. They travelled the world as competitive ballroom dancers as well as dabbling in the Stock Market trading. But not long ago they decided to begin another creative venture. One with its own kind of beauty equalling moves of their dancing days - and it is one that is likely to net them more than the Dow Jones or NASDAQ might ever yield. In 2007 the pair formed Kotadama and began writing their own songs and recorded their first album. The band is an inventive group of people and with their debut album have already become the fresh musical faces of pop radio.

Clint Fish (keys, synth, second guitar and backup vocals) met Chris and Evan about 18 years ago and when Chris and Evan started songwriting he joined them for their first album. As well as playing with Kotadama, he is also a cabinet maker, computer nerd and pro gambler and has a photogrammetry business. But he has found none of those as fulfilling as singing and playing in the band.

Kane Burns (bass),  from the Central Coast, started playing guitar when he was 13 but then realized bass was better so switched over a year later and has played ever since. He studied music at Newcastle University majoring in bass. He met Evan, Chris & Clint a few years ago and loves the feel of the band and positive attitude that Kotadama has and is looking forward to touring the world with them.

Like so many great bands Kotadama (Japanese for “spirit of words”) arose out of their wish to record and perform the songs they’d written.

“Around the time I was studying for my university entrance exams I started bugging my parents for a guitar, and then I learned how to play,” says Chris, who with Evan and their two sisters grew up on their family’s 100-acre rural property in New South Wales, Australia. “I talked Evan into learning to play the drums, and we started working out U2 songs and other covers. We started writing our own stuff pretty soon after that.” Before long, the siblings had converted a nearby farm shed into their own recording studio and were hard at work crafting the songs on Dichotomy.

And what songs they are; sweeping, high-gloss epics that truly belie their composers’ youth with the uplifting and melodic tunes. They reflect their obsession with age-old, universal themes: the relentless ache of unrequited love; a young man’s attempts to make sense of the world; that intoxicating, tingling rush of a first kiss. There’s “As I Am,” a driving, lay-it-on-the-line statement of self-belief with massive hooks and keyboards that sparkle like distant stars; and “Earth vs. Man,” an atmospheric, introspective think-piece that Chris describes as “a bit of a warning to mankind.” And then there’s “See You Tonight,” their first single. A yearning ode of romantic separation with a soaring, heartbreaking vocal by Chris, the track was picked up by CNY KISS FM and quickly became the station’s most requested song, going to No.1 for 8 weeks!

Things have been happening quickly for the band! On invitation, Kotadama has toured have toured India, New Zealand, Japan and appeared at the Kansai Music Conference in Osaka, Japan; was nominated for a Los Angeles Music Award; saw the video for “See You Tonight” air on CBS, NBC, FOX, and other American TV networks; played an acoustic showcase in the UK; won first place in the international Festival4stars songwriting competition; and received invitations to perform at the Barcelona Acció Musical festival in Spain and in Canada and the US! The list goes on!

Following this success the band partnered with, multi-platinum records producer, David Kershenbaum (Duran Duran, Tracy Chapman, Bryan Adams and many more). He said about Kotadama - “Every decade or so there is a musical group that comes on the scene that takes your breath away,” raves Kershenbaum. “Kotadama is that kind of group.”

The list of achievements for Kotadama in the past few years is long and vast! Currently, Kotadama has numerous songs ready for their next album and are looking to work with experienced music professionals that can further their career.

“The goal is still the same for Kotadama as when we started,” explains Evan, “and to write songs that resonate with people of all ages.”

One listen to their album shows Kotadama knows exactly how to achieve their dream with an approach that will take them and their music across the world.