Diane Birch
| Diane Birch | |
|---|---|
 Diane Birch performing at the J&R Music Festival 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | January 24, 1983 |
| Origin | Michigan |
| Genres | Soul, blues |
| Instruments | Piano/Rhodes/Wurlitzer/Vocal |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | S-Curve |
| Website | www.dianebirch.com |
Diane Birch (born January 24, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter.
Early life
Birch was born in Michigan. At the age of seven Birch began studying piano using the Suzuki method. While growing up she listened to opera, classical and church music.[1] Her father was a Seventh-day Adventist preacher whose work took him to several countries. As a child Birch lived with her family in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Sydney, Australia. When she was ten, her family returned to the United States of America, and settled in Portland, Oregon. Birch attended Portland Adventist Elementary School and later, Portland Adventist Academy.[1]
Career
Early in her career Birch moved to Los Angeles and set out to compose music for films but instead played piano at the Beverly Hotel and L'Orangerie. During this period Prince heard her perform at the Polo Lounge in 2006 and invited her to join him at his home for a music session with his band. Later, Birch moved to London, where she signed a publishing contract and wrote most of the songs that appeared on her debut album.
In 2007, she moved to New York City after signing with Steve Greenberg's S-Curve Records. Birch's debut album, Bible Belt, was released in 2009 on S-Curve and received supportive reviews in Rolling Stone, Paper Magazine and the Huffington Post.[2] Bible Belt was recorded in New York and New Orleans.
In 2009 Birch made a number of television appearances to promote her album Bible Belt, including: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Late Show with David Letterman, Last Call with Carson Daly, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the webcast, Live From Daryl's House [3] Birch was interviewed on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday on June 14, 2009, on which she performed several of her songs from Bible Belt.[4]
Her song "Rise Up" was the Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week in October 2009 and her song "Valentino" appeared in the movie Valentine's Day.[5]
In 2010 Birch was the opening act for Stevie Wonder at the "Hard Rock Calling Festival" in Hyde Park and Nîmes, France and Nick Jonas and the Administration.[6] Birch performed shows in Osaka and Tokyo. [citation needed] In September, Birch released the single track "Gee Whiz It's Christmas" on Amazon and iTunes. Birch also co-wrote and sang the song "Too Soon to End" by Alain Clark.[citation needed] In December Birch released a digital only EP titled The Velveteen Age , on which she performs covers of songs she enjoyed while growing up.
In 2013 she was featured in English rapper Devlin's song "Rewind," singing a chorus based on her original version from Bible Belt.[7]
In addition to keyboards, Birch also plays guitar and the violin.
Her second album, titled Speak A Little Louder, was released on October 15, 2013 in the US.
In January 2014, she published a cover version of Nine Inch Nails' 'Copy of A' from the band's 2013 album Hesitation Marks on YouTube.[8]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | ITA | ||
| Bible Belt |
|
87 | 77 | 26 |
| Speak a Little Louder | 195 | N/A | N/A | |
Extended play
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| The Velveteen Age (with The Phenomenal Hand Clap Band) |
|
Singles
As lead artist
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | CAN | ||||||||
| 2009 | "Nothing But a Miracle" | — | — | Bible Belt | |||||
| 2010 | "This Corrosion" | — | — | The Velveteen Age | |||||
| 2011 | "Wind Up Bird Song" | — | — | [10] | |||||
| "—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||
As featured artist
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| 2013 | "Rewind" (Devlin featuring Diane Birch)[11] |
10 | A Moving Picture |
Other appearances
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Valentino" | Valentine's Day |
| "Too Soon to End" (with Alain Clark) |
"ColourBlind" | |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Nothing But a Miracle" | Moh Azima |
| 2010 | "Valentino" | Dennis Liu |
| "Rewind" | Gavin Elder | |
| 2013 | "All The Love You Got" | Gene Doe |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Diane Birch Breaking Out With 'Bible Belt' On 'Mom Blogs'". Billboard. 2009-06-15. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
- ↑ Wild, David (April 13, 2009). "I've Just Heard the Future of Singer-Songwriters and Her Name Is...". TheHuffingtonPost.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ↑ "Live From Daryl's House with Daryl Hall :: Homepage". Livefromdarylshouse.com. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
- ↑ "Diane Birch: The 'Bible Belt,' In Eclectic Song".
- ↑ Posted by Heringer (2009-10-20). "Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Diane Birch - Rise Up". www.mark-heringer.com. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
- ↑ "The Official Diane Birch Site". DianeBirch.com. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
- ↑ DigitalSpy.com
- ↑
- ↑ http://www.nylonmag.com/articles/diane-birch-speak-a-little-louder
- ↑ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XL71FY/ref=dm_att_alb5
- ↑ Beatz Magazine
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Diane Birch. |
- Official website
- Diane Birch youtube channel
- Diane Birch: The 'Bible Belt,' In Eclectic Song from National Public Radio
- Diane Birch live in concert from NPR station WXPN
- Diane Birch at the Internet Movie Database
- Diane Birch performs Rewind as part of Guardian How I wrote series
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