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of Australia’s finest singer-songwriters, Flemish born nomad
Carl Cleves and Greek-Australian songbird Parissa Bouas meld a
satchel of styles to “create a wonderfully textured quilt
of beautiful and meaningful songs.“ Carl’s unmistakable
guitar style is utterly captivating, whilst “Parissa has
a voice that would aggravate angels with its beauty.”
Australia’s definitive coffeehouse couple weave stories
with songs, touching a deep vein of humanity that leaves audiences
moved, uplifted and crying out for more. In 2009 their new CD
"Austalian Stories", recorded by Gunter Pauler, will
be released by cult German label ‘Stockfisch Records’.
They have won many Australian awards including MUSICOZ- BEST FOLK
SONG, ASA- BEST LYRICS, NCIEA- BEST ALBUM, ASA- BEST COFFEEHOUSE.
Their latest CD, ‘Turn Back the Tide’ is very much
a CD of our times and many of the songs tell stories, like ‘The
Bethlehem Bell Ringer’, ‘The Coniston Massacre’
& ‘The Lion of Kandahar’. They have headlined
at all major Australian folk festivals and toured internationally
to Europe, Latin America and Madagascar.
Their music can’t be easily labelled. Whilst it’s
true to say there is an ethnic flavour, there is also a strong
folk/roots component, that combined with their singer/ songwriter
style, delivers a unique musical experience that skirts many boundaries.
“If they could be said to have a base style it stems from
the Gaelic / Irish axis which connects us all to our history,
whether you like it or not. But it doesn’t end there. In
fact it’s just the beginning as essential Australianness
is put through a variegated multi-cultural blender that demonstrates
how all music can be honestly linked if treated sympathetically.”
“Anyone with an interest in good acoustic music with an
international flavour won’t be disappointed”
Debra Manskey, Australian Songwriter Magazine
“If you’ve seen Carl & Parissa live you will have
a good idea what to expect: warmth generosity, humour and fantastic
musicianship."
James Rigby, Folk Alliance Australia
Carl Cleves, originally from Belgium, has accumulated a bottomless
bag of stories, rhythms, languages and guitar styles during his
nomadic life, which has led him to perform in almost every continent,
resulting in highly original songs. In Brazil where he was a band
leader for seven years, he released 2 acclaimed albums. An excellent
guitarist, singer and storyteller, Carl’s adventures have
included stints as an antelope trapper in Uganda, relief worker
in cyclone struck India, radiobroadcaster and ethnomusicologist
in Africa and fisherman in the South Pacific.
At festivals across the country Carl conducts story telling, lyric
writing and song writing workshops. Carl’s first book, ‘Tarab:
Travels with My Guitar” was published in July 2008 by Transit
Lounge. His recent solo CD’s are: All Alone 2007; Tarab
2008. www.carlcleves.com
www.myspace/carlcleves.com
Parissa is an extraordinary singer and songwriter who finds an
emotional context for every genre. In Brazil they named her ‘Patativa’,
after a bird renowned for its singing. Daughter of a Greek sailor,
she inherited his love of Latin music and honed her formidable
percussion skills whilst touring throughout Latin America with
an Andean Folkloric group. Parissa has written some classic, catchy
songs that people sing around the country, such as “Mother’s
Song” , “I’ll Be With You Tonight” &
“My Spirit”. In 2000 she co- wrote the anthemic “Put
Your Hand in Mine” for the Woodford Millenium Fire Event
Choir of 700 voices, which she also conducted. The performance
before a crowd of 20,000 was beamed across Australia and to 1.6
billion people in 61 countries.
www.parissabouas.com
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