Biography
graphy
The rock band Bless consists of 3 Danes and 1 Australian. Formed in 2004, the Independent band released their first EP entitled Autopilot in July of the same year. The EP which was solely released in Denmark featured a single titled Buttnaked which was a part of the playlist of P3 ( Denmark's main music radio station) where the track received very positive reviews and much national attention.
Bless where invited to perform 10 songs live in Århus as one of the featured guest artists for an official event in celebrating the marriage of the Danish Crown Prince Fredrik and his bride Mary... Both Royals were in attendance along with a crowd of over 40.000 adoring fans and well wishers, footage from the nationally televised event is available for viewing.
In October 2004, Bless appeared on the childrens television program Snurr Snup which is Denmarks fifth most watched television program. The band' s high energy performance of their single was the highlight of the show.
Blesss introduction to Danish audiences continued throughout the year with a number of large shopping mall apperances, in-store promotional gigs accompanied by album signing sessions for their loyal fans and numerous concerts at well known intimate venues accross their country.
While recording their new album in 2005, the band was invited to contribute a cover song to the international Tribute compilation album project titled A timeless vibration featuring classic songs from reggae legend Bob Marley performed in various genres. Bless recorded a stand out version of One drop in their own unique style, their rendition quickly became one of the producer' s favorite tracks. Among the guest artist on the compilation which will be released in the later part of 2006 are featured such talents as: Brazilian Superstar Gilberto Gil, Delmar Brown (Keyboardist for STING, Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius...), Juliette Hanlon (backing vocalist for Ziggy Marley & STING), Contemporary Jazz Virtuoso Jim Savitt, Afro-pop Artist Alain Nkossi Konda & many more surprises... Additonal infos concerning the project which Bless' s Jens Simonsen has been invited to Co-produce can be obtained at www.afrikool.com .
The relatively new band is fronted by the songwriting team of Pennie Christensen & Jens Simonsen and is comprised of musicians which have all been very active within the hip Copenhagen music scene & the entertainment industry both as a unit and as individuals.
Individual members:
Pennie was born in Denmark, and raised in Australia since the age of three, she moved back to Denmark in 2004. A versatile and talented singer/songwriter Pennie draws her inspiration from both classic Australian rock and the indi scene. Her original materials have consistantly placed among the top 10 in the Australian Songwriting Competition.
Along with her experience both live and in the studio, Pennie has been blessed with a sensually powerful and expressive vocal timbre which captivates the listeners.
Jens is a Greenlandic-born Dane who is both a gifted bass player/Songwriter/ Engineer and an internationally well respected producer, having worked with countless names in the Danish music scene including; Caroline Henderson, Angu and Gitte Hnning. His reputation has led artists such as the England based World music Superstar Kanda Bongo Man from the DR of Congo to fly over for a recording session along with producer/Artist A.N.Konda and Keboardist Delmar Brown for the recording of a single titled Happy Woman.
Jens is currently co-producing a number of tracks with Afro-pop Artist Alain Nkossi Konda (www.afrikool.com) for his 3rd album titled Nostalgia 3C1S1V at Vibesync, Alain who is a big fan of Bless was the first artist signed by the Legendary Calypso King Harry Belafonte & Island Records founder Chris Blackwell for their label NIGER Records/ Palm Pictures.
Mika and Kenneth have both been extremely active both on the live scene and in the studio with amongst others; Gnags, Dicte, Julie, Kasper Winding, og Kenneth Thordal.
Jens and Pennie have written, recorded and produced the new Bless album on which they have carefully been working on over the past year in their studio located in the heart of Copenhagen, all the while simultanuously working on a number of high profile projects, including scores for t.v and film.
Their young and successful business venture Vibesync (www.vibesync.com) is a Sound and Music Design company which has managed to amass a diverse and very impressive resumé of projects to date.
Their scores of recent productions include: The Danish internationally-sold four part mini-series Julie, featuring stars such as Mads Mikaelson and Iben Ejle, documentaries, albums, remixes and commercials such as Subaru, Greenland Tourist Commission and the soon to be aired new Sunsilk commercial.
The prolific duo are the proud owners of a large catalogue of unpublished and available music which is still growing, providing endless possibilities and a rich resource of opportunities for their side projects.
The benefits of owning their own professional studio as Bless do is self-evident. It enables their music to constantly evolve, all the while being refined and redefined in the hands of theses specialists. Various artists have been invited to the studio to lend their talents and contribute to Bless' s new album project, they are:
Keyboardist Jesper Bo (Anne Linnet and bla bla) on several tracks, and the Nordic MTV chart-topping solo artist Angu (www.angu.nu) lending his unmistakable and beautiful vocal harmonies to the warm, heart-felt ballad Honey.
Their thorough enjoyment of music, both during the creative process and live performances can be clearly heard within the materials they present. Blesss musical interaction reflects the band members colláge of talents and influences from their mixed backgrounds.
The result is rock and pop-based melodic tracks which playfully flirt with other genres ranging from singer/songwriter (Beesting and Honey) to rock/pop (Almost Good Enough, Wake Me), roots (Flesh and Blood) and punk (Fakin It). Bless's debut album resists current traditions of a one dimentional bodies of work, keeping the listener intrigued with its many musical adventures, and is a fresh offering from Scandinavia with an Australian twist.
In Late 2005 Bless signed a distribution deal with German-based company MDM, for a European-wide release of their new album.
The debut album "Based on a True Story" is set for release in the early stages of 2006 after MIDEM in a collaboration with the Munich Germany based/ MDM GmbH.
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Members:
Pennie Christensen - Lead vocals, guitar; Jens Simonsen - Bass & production; Mika Vandborg - Guitar; Kennett Spencer - Drums; Additional musicians are used to complete the live band
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Sounds Like:
A CD
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Influences:
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AirPlay Direct Member Since:
04/21/06
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Profile Last Updated:
08/20/23 11:03:16