Shannon Hope has been submerged within the South African alternative pop rock scene for the past decade, but with her return to the classically-inspired piano-based vocal illustrations of her earlier writing, as a solo artist she is now positioned somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, with a powerful yet delicately moving debut solo album.
Currently based in Durban, South Africa, her extensive musical journey has seen her grace the premier stages of Splashy Fen, Woodstock SA, The White Mountain Folk Festival, The Barnyard Theatre and The Metro Theatre in Chicago. Her brief sojourns in America in the early days of her music career earned her the opportunity of recording a five track EP with that city’s high profile producer, Bjorn Thorsrud (of Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan fame) in 2004.
Five years later, and Hope has reinvented herself. Her much-anticipated debut solo album, co-produced with Tim Rankin, was recorded at his Cape Town studio in five intense days of musical madness. The eleven track studio album, released on 1 April 2009, delivers the thoughtfully personal and often heart-wrenching honesty of an artist whose music forces you to feel, with a voice impossible to ignore.
Visit www.shannonhope.co.za for more information, and to get involved in the fundraising effort for POWAR, running in conjunction with the release of the album.
[April 2009]
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