| Passenger (British band) | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Rosenberg |
| Also known as | Passenger UK |
| Origin | Brighton, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Indie Folk |
| Occupations | Singer-Songwriter, Musician |
| Years active | 2003 - Present |
| Labels | Cooking Vinyl, Chalkmark, Inertia |
| Website | http://www.passengerofficial.com |
| Members | |
| Mike Rosenberg | |
For the swedish metal band see Passenger (Swedish Band)
Passenger is a British acoustic band formed in 2007.
Contents |
The seeds of Passenger were sown when Michael Rosenberg bumped in to BAFTA-award-winning film and TV soundtrack composer Andrew Phillips at a Free Burma event in London, featuring the likes of Faithless, Travis and Horace Andy. Rosenberg had blagged a one-song solo slot and Phillips was performing with the band Slovo. They met backstage and discovered that they both lived in Brighton.
Mike and Andrew formed Passenger in May 2003, roughly a year after they first met. They first had to come up with a name. It took almost two years for the band, by now a quintet, to settle with the name Passenger. "I think it fit’s my observational style of writing ….. it’s the idea that you're in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle and sort of watching the world go by and witnessing things of people's lives and it's about being disengaged, an observer,slightly outside of a situation."
Passenger spent 2006 releasing two low-key singles - "Stray Dog" and "Philadelphia" - and constantly touring the UK with lots of busking and street gigs . The songs that form their first album "Wicked Man's Rest" were written over a period of two and a half years. A singer/songwriter reared on Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Van Morrison, Rosenberg had intended to make a traditional, stripped-down album based on strong melodies and his modern-day fables. Inspired by the unusual cast of characters he had come up with, Phillips gave the songs a cinematic setting, adding shimmering beats, bleeps, strings and sound effects
Passenger and ie:music released the album "Wicked Man's Rest" in 2007 with the backing of investment company Ingenious Media as one of the first non-heritage artists to release under this new model. 3 singles were released from the album including "Walk You Home" ("Night Vision Binoculars" in the US), "Table for One" and "Do What You Like".
The following year tracks from the album provided the soundtrack to the BBC Comedy short film Where Have I Been All Your Life.
“Table for One” was used on a UK Channel 4 advert.
By the completion of Wicked Man’s Rest, Passenger took to the road in earnest. There were shows with Kate Nash, Scouting For Girls, Seth Lakeman and The Hold Steady, The album was released in the USA, UK and Australia, allowing them to tour across all 3 continents through 2007 and 2008.
2008 began with the showing of a BBC short film,” Where Have I Been All Your Life”, a comedy starring Imelda Staunton and James Corden, that uses solely Passenger songs on its soundtrack.
BLURT – “7/10”
INDIE LAUNCHPAD – “ 9.5 /10 “ blows my socks off “
YAHOO “Passenger is the stunning, articulate Brighton-based band bound to set the world on fire.”
TRIPWIRE “an absolute gem”
TRIPWIRE Best Of CMJ 2008
THE SUN 4/5 “Captivating…”
ACED MAGAZINE “Strongly recommended… not only is it beautiful to listen to, but quite pleasing to absorb.”
GLASSWERK “storyteller Mike Rosenberg has and will surely continue to receive any credit due because, to put it simply, his Passenger vehicle is an exquisite and intelligent exercise in musical craft and composition”
NME “Panty-moistening balladeering… with heaps of style and intelligence”
HITSHEET “One of the top bands to watch out for this year”
ENTERTAINMENT FOCUS “Passenger have a bright future in front of them and we look forward to the second album. Mike Rosenberg is one hell of a talented guy and we’ll be listening to Wicked Man’s Rest on repeat until he gives us some new material.”
MUSIC WEEK “Already championed by Jo Whiley, Passenger pen guitar-driven pop songs that set themselves apart from the rest of the pack (single, July 2)”
THE SUN “Intensely beautiful”
MSN “We Brits have another potential world beater on our hands”
Q “Essential Download”
MSN “Less whiny than James Blunt, richer than David Gray while every bit as mournful as Nick Drake” THE LINE OF BEST FIT “…the melodies are so addictive, it’s impossible to stop them burrowing into the brain.””
TOTAL SPEC MAGAZINE “Doused with quality from start to finish”
In 2009, the wind changed and Mike decided to change direction, creating a whole new landscape for Passenger, formerly a five-piece band, Passenger has now pared back to the absolute basics, stripping down the music to a bare minimum. He created and self produced the intensely personal, soulful and close record “Wide Eyes Blind Love’ and was brought to the public as it was created, on the road and with support of ie:music self released the second album in May 2009.
Wide Eyes Blind Love’
An entirely self funded acoustic album with no traditional marketing and the majority of sales acquired mainly through busking in the streets, gigs and touring.
Through the Northern hemisphere summer of 2009, Mike sold thousands of albums on the streets of the UK as he busked his way across the country.
Wide Eyes Blind Love Reviews
UCLA Radio: “….Mike Rosenberg, singer/songwriter has stripped down his music to its earnest, most basic elements. He weaves powerful creative poetry with simplistic, beautiful melodies that carry his audience to dark, deep places…." "…..There is no where to run from the raw power of his often sorrowful lyrics; they force you to face emotion head on and really wallow in the experience..." "….. The female vocalist who figures rather prominently on “What Will Become of Us” and “Underwater Bride” was a stunning addition. Her voice is soft, but it rings so pure that I can’t imagine these tracks now without her. She adds a beautiful dimension to an album that it is very instrumentally minimal. Now, don’t get me wrong, its not one man and his guitar. It is more like a man and two guitars, but each instrument functions together so flawlessly and softly that the focus can’t help but be Mike’s vocals...." ….. If you enjoy artists like Iron and Wine, The Weepies, Elliot Smith, and Simon & Garfunkel, give Passenger a shot and let the music work its magic, you won't be disappointed...."
Music Glorious: “…. Song names such as ‘I See Love’, ‘The Last Unicorn’ and ‘Rainbows’ give us insight into the type of band Passenger is and what kind of music Mike plays, beautiful, soothing and sensitive tunes.
The success of ‘Wide Eyes Blind Love’ brought Mike to Australia in October 2009 where he supported Lior, Elana Stone and Brian Campeau on a month long tour of the East coast and Mike started another incredible journey in the end of 2009. Mike brought the same busking approach to Australia.
Divers and Submarines
2009 was quite a year for Passenger having busked his way around Australia, before returning home to record his third album "Divers and Submarines" as a "Fan Only" release in support of 2 UK national tours.
Flight of the Crow
Self funded through his busking income, Passenger set about recording a series of collaborations with Australian musical friends he had met along the way. Flight Of The Crow is the remarkable result of Passenger’s intrepid journey, with Australian artists Lior, Josh Pyke, Katie Noonan, Boy & Bear, Kate Miller Heidke, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Brian Campeau and Elana Stone, Matt Corby, Jess Chalker and Dead Letter Chorus all lending their voices to this serendipitous creative venture. Flight Of The Crow was recorded in Sydney’s famous BJB studios over February and March 2010, and co-produced by Berkfinger (AKA Simon Berkleman from Philadelphia Grand Jury).
In the last year Mike has shared the stage with Seth Lakeman, Kate Nash, The Hold Steady, Lior, Elana Stone, Brian Campeau, Josh Pyke, Matt Corby, Jools Holland, Old Man River, Daniel Lee Kendall, Stu Larsen and Turin Brakes.