Description

Damien Rice (born December 7, 1973) is anIrishsinger-songwriter. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, to GeorgeandMaureen Rice and was raised in Celbridge, County Kildare,Ireland.In March 1999 Damien moved to Tuscany, then travelledaroundEurope, busking the streets. He arrived back in Dublin ayearlater, with a clear head and full of ideas. Damien startedplayingand recording music with his first band, Juniper. After afew yearshe decided creatively it was not for him so he left theband (Newlynamed Bell X1) to start a solo career.

He approached his music with a new found freshness and decidedtoput some songs down on record. His grandmother told him he hadadistant cousin in London in the music business. Borrowingmoneyfrom those that would lend it, he recorded his demo and sentit offto his cousin, renowned producer and film composer, DavidArnold(Bjork, James Bond). Arnold liked what he heard and providedenoughmoney for Damien to buy his own mobile studio.

Damien Rice formerly sang with Lisa Hannigan and releasedhisdebut solo album, O, in Ireland in early 2002. In July 2002 Owasreleased in the UK and it received widespread critical acclaim.InJune 2003 O was released in the USA and Europe, with Riceappearingon The Letterman Show and receiving more acclaim frompublicationssuch as Rolling Stone, Newsweek and The Boston Globe.Arnold joinedhim on stage in New York to perform a version of theBjörk/Arnoldtrack Play Dead.
He gained further popularity after some of his most famoussongswere included in the media. An example of this is 9 Crimesused inthe soundtrack of the summer blockbuster Shrek Three andTheBlower's Daughter was featured in the movie Closer. Delicatewasalso featured in the hit T.V. show Lost.

Damien Rice is an intense live act - with emphasis laidonemotional intensity and experiments, rather thantechnicalperfection. At a 2005 concert, for instance, he threw outbigcheeses to the audience. This can sometimes be more demandingforthe listener than the radio hit edit of the songCannonballsuggests. 'Cannonball' was re-mixed in 2004, for UKradio, to makeit more radio-friendly. Rice later was reported to bevery unhappywith it, saying to Tom Dunne on PetSounds (Today FM)that he didnot "…really like it". He stated that he had allowed theremix togo through only if he signed a contract that would forbidanyonefrom ever remixing one of his songs ever again.

Damien spent 2004 and 2005 recording the follow-up to O.Thealbum, 9, was released in Ireland on November 3, 2006, onNovember6 in the rest of Europe, and in North America on November14, 2006.Even though the new album maintained Rice's senseof"emotionality," some argued that it did so through volumeandintensity rather than with the reflection and lyricalcommentarythat characterized his first release, O.

Rice has also developed a reputation as a live performer,sellingout at venues across Europe and the United States. He is aperformerwho gives a lot of himself to the audience.

album: "O" (2003)
Delicate
Volcano
The Blower's Daughter
Cannonball
Older Chests
Amie
Cheers Darlin
Cold Water
I Remember
Eskimo
Prague[Hidden Track]
Silent Night[Hidden Track]
EP: "B-Sides" (2004)
The Professor
Lonelily
Woman Like A Man
Delicate
Volcano
album: "9" (2006)
9 Crimes
The Animals Were Gone
Elephant
Rootless Tree
Dogs
Coconut Skins
Me, My Yoke, And I
Grey Room
Accidental Babies
Sleep Don't Weep
The Rat Within The Grain[Bonus Track]
album: "My Favourite Faded Fantasy" (2014)
My Favourite Faded Fantasy
It Takes A Lot To Know A Man
The Greatest Bastard
I Don't Want To Change You
Colour Me In
The Box
Trusty And True
Long Long Way
other songs:
Baby Sister
Creep
Cross-Eyed Bear
Greatest Bastard
Hypnosis[from "Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet" soundtrack]
Lonely Soldier
Moody Mooday
Never & Always On My Mind
Sand
The Connoisseur Of Great Excuse
Unplayed Piano
What This Night Is For
Wild And Free