| Dear Reader | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Genres | Alternative, Pop |
| Years active | 2006 – present |
| Labels | City Slang Just Music |
| Associated acts | Harris Tweed, Ramona Falls, Marching Band |
| Website | dearreadermusic.com |
| Members | |
| Cherilyn MacNeil | |
| Past members | |
| Darryl Torr | |
Dear Reader is an alternative/pop band from Johannesburg, South Africa. The band was founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Cherilyn MacNeil and producer/bass player, Darryl Torr. Dear Reader is now the solo project of Cherilyn MacNeil.
Contents |
In August 2006 MacNeil and Torr released their first album, The Younger, through South African record label, Just Music, under the band name, Harris Tweed. In 2008 they adopted the name Dear Reader, after the Scottish textile company Harris Tweed asked them to stop using their name.
In 2008 MacNeil and Torr recorded their first album as Dear Reader called, Replace Why with Funny. The album was produced by Brent Knopf, of Menomena/Ramona Falls (band). Soon after, they signed a licensing deal with Berlin based indie label, City Slang, and the album was released in February 2009 - in Europe by City Slang, and in South Africa by Just Music.
In 2010 'Replace Why with Funny' won the award for Best English Adult contemporary Album at the South African Music Awards.
In 2010 MacNeil and Torr amicably parted ways and Cherilyn relocated to Berlin, where she wrote the material for the follow-up Dear Reader album, Idealistic Animals. The album was recorded in Leipzig, Germany and Portland, Oregon, again with the assistance of Brent Knopf and various other friends and musicians.
Idealistic Animals was released in Germany and South Africa in September 2011 and is scheduled for release in Europe and the UK in November 2011.
Brent Knopf, Jean-Louise Nel, Martin Wenk (of Calexico), Jacob Lind, Erik Sunbring, Caoimhe McAlister, Fritz, Bernt and Isabel Brueckner, Matt Sheehy, Dave Depper, Mark Shirazi, Sven Michelson, John Askew, Jessica Beer, Christopher Cotter, Jen Dolan, Tamara Harris, Bennet Baily, Thom Fahrbach.
Jean-Louise Nel, Martin Wenk, Jacob Lind, Erik Sunbring, Caoimhe McAlister