Gemma Ray
Berlin-based British artist Gemma Ray has been calmly clocking up a cool reputation on the international independent scene, and with a new self-produced album titled Milk For Your Motors under the belt for a August 2014 release, which features collaborations with, Alan Vega (Suicide), Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, Howe Gelb (Giant Sand) and Toby Dammit (Iggy Pop/Swans), the music keeps on coming.
A self-styled musician/songwriter/producer, she skirts somewhere between pop-noir, sideways blues, gothic folk, 60s girl-group and cinematic soundscapes. MOJO magazine declared Gemma to be “one inspired music machine”, NME describe her as “untouchable”, and Paste magazine pronounced her to be “blazing her own silvertone trail”.
She released two new albums within 10 months of each other in 2012/2013. “Down Baby Down” was a vinyl-only 'fantasy soundtracks' album, mostly instrumental or choral, and featured drummer Thomas Wydler (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds). Before that came“Island Fire”, an album of lavish orchestral pop-noir, which saw her perform on the UK's Top of the Pops and enter the US's college radio CMJ charts Top 20, featured a unique and bold collaboration with Ron and Russell Mael, aka Sparks, and earned a new occasional backing band in the shape of the 65-piece Filmorchester Babelsberg.
An Independent Music Award winner, she has toured extensively and has recently been seen as special guest to artists such as Grinderman, Marianne Faithfull, and Kris Kristofferson
As of May 2014