Damien Rice

Damien Rice

Rice holding a guitar onstage

Damien Rice performing in Villa Arconati, Milan
Background information
Birth name Damien Rice
Born 7 December 1973
Origin Kildare, Ireland
Genres Folk, indie rock, folk rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, record producer
Instruments Vocals, piano, guitar, percussion, clarinet
Labels Vector Recordings, Republic, Heffa, Warner Bros., DRM/14th Floor
Associated acts Juniper, Bell X1, Lisa Hannigan, Melanie Laurent
Website www.damienrice.com

Damien Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who plays piano, guitar, percussion and clarinet.

Rice began his musical career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, which were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success with a couple of single releases, but a projected album foundered because of record company politics. After leaving the band he worked as a farmer in Tuscany and busked throughout Europe before returning to Ireland in 2001 and beginning a solo musical career.

In 2002 his debut album O reached No. 8 on the UK albums chart, won the Shortlist Music Prize and generated three top-30 singles in the UK. Rice released his second album 9 in 2006 and his songs have appeared in numerous films and television episodes.

After eight years of various collaborations, Rice released his third studio album My Favourite Faded Fantasy on 31 October 2014.[1]

Rice's personal activities include musical contributions to charitable projects such as the Songs for Tibet, Freedom Campaign and the Enough Project.

Early life and Juniper

Rice was born to George and Maureen Rice, and raised in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland.[2]

Rice formed the rock band Juniper along with Paul Noonan, Dominic Philips, David Geraghty and Brian Crosby in 1991. The band met whilst they were attending Salesian College secondary school in Celbridge, Co. Kildare as students. After touring throughout Ireland the band released their debut EP Manna in 1995.[3]
Based in Straffan, Kildare the band continued touring and signed a six album record deal with Polygram. Their recording projects generated the singles "Weatherman" and "The World Is Dead" which received favourable reviews.[3] They also recorded but never released "Tongue". After achieving his musical goals with Juniper, Rice became frustrated with the artistic compromises required by the record label, and he left the band in 1998.[4] Rice moved to Tuscany in Italy and took up farming for some time, then returned to Ireland before busking around Europe.[4] After returning to Ireland a second time, Rice gave a demo recording to his second cousin, music producer David Arnold who then gave Rice a mobile studio.[5][6]

Solo career

Damien Rice at Coachella in 2007

In 2001, Rice's song "The Blower's Daughter" made a top 40 chart.[5] Over the next year he continued to record his album with guitarist Mark Kelly, New York drummer Tom Osander aka Tomo, Paris pianist Jean Meunier, London producer David Arnold, County Meath vocalist Lisa Hannigan and cellist Vyvienne Long.[6] Rice then embarked on a tour of Ireland with Hannigan, Tomo, Vyvienne, Mark, and Dublin bassist Shane Fitzsimons.[6]

In 2002, Rice's debut album O was released in Ireland, the UK and the United States.[7] The album peaked at No. 8 on the UK albums chart and remained on the chart for 97 weeks, selling 650,000 copies in the US.[7][8] The album won the Shortlist Music Prize and the songs "Cannonball" and "Volcano" became top 30 hits in the UK.[8][9]

In 2006 Rice released his second album 9 which was recorded during the two years prior.[10] 2007 was a year of touring with Rice appearing at England's Glastonbury Festival and the Rock Werchter festival in Belgium.[11] In 2008 he contributed the song "Making Noise" for the album Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace in support of the 14th Dalai Lama and Tibet.[12]

In 2010, he contributed the song "Lonely Soldier" to the Enough Project[13] and played at the Iceland Inspires concert held in Hljómskálagarðurinn near Reykjavík centrum.[14] Rice recorded a cover of the Juniper track, "Crosseyed Bear" for the compilation, Help: A Day in the Life. Rice's albums are published under his record label Heffa (originally named DRM) in Ireland and Vector Records in North America. Records released in the UK, Europe and other countries are published by 14th Floor Records via Warner Music.[15] In spring 2011, Rice featured on the debut album by French actress and singer Melanie Laurent. He appears on two tracks on her debut album En t'attendant while collaborating on a total of five tracks which feature on the album.[16] In May 2013, Rice told the audience at the South Korea Seoul Jazz Festival 2013 that he is working on a new album.[17]

On 4 September 2014, Rice's official Twitter account announced his third album My Favourite Faded Fantasy, due to 31 October. On the Damien Rice official website the date given for the official release in 3 November 2014.[18] The album, My Favourite Faded Fantasy featuring the first single "I Don't Want To Change You" was released worldwide 10 November 2014 to critical acclaim from NPR’s Robin Hilton stating "The upcoming Damien Rice album is incredible..." and the London Evening Standard said "Damien Rice…is returning with one of the albums of the year."

Personal life

Rice participated in the Freedom Campaign, the Burma Campaign UK and the U.S. Campaign for Burma to free Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi.[19] He campaigned for her release by writing and performing the song "Unplayed Piano" at the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo.[20]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
IRE
[21]		 AUS
[22]		 BEL (Vl)
[23]		 BEL (Wa)
[24]		 FRA
[25]		 GER
[26]		 ITA
[27]		 NL
[28]		 NOR
[29]		 SWI
[30]		 UK
[31]		 US
[32]
O 2 67 — — 70 76 — — 6 — 8 114
9 1 33 14 53 86 87 33 20 8 48 4 22
My Favourite Faded Fantasy 1 25 4 15 48 13 10 2 22 5 7 15

Live albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
IRE
[21]		 AUS
[22]		 BEL (Vl)
[23]		 BEL (Wa)
[24]		 FRA
[25]		 GER
[26]		 ITA
[27]		 NL
[28]		 NOR
[29]		 SWI
[30]		 UK
[31]		 US
[32]
Live at Fingerprints Warts & All — — — — — — — — — — — —
Live from the Union Chapel 58 — — — — — — — — — 179 —

EPs

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
IRE
[21]		 AUS
[22]		 BEL (Vl)
[23]		 BEL (Wa)
[24]		 FRA
[25]		 GER
[26]		 ITA
[27]		 NL
[28]		 NOR
[29]		 SWI
[30]		 UK
[31]		 US
[32]
B-Sides 1 — — — — — — — — — 143 —

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released as single and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
IRE
[21]		 AUS
[37]		 BEL (Vl)
[23]		 BEL (Wa)
[24]		 FRA
[25]		 GER
[26]		 NL
[28]		 SWI
[30]		 UK
[31]
"The Blower's Daughter" 2001 38 82 — — 93 — — — 27 O
"Cannonball" 2002 13 — — — — — — — 9
"Woman Like a Man" 2003 — — — — — — — — — Non-album track
"Volcano" 29 — — — — — — — 29 O
"Moody Mooday/Lonelily" (vinyl-only) 2004 — — — — — — — — 143 Non-album tracks
"Lonely Soldier" (with Christy Moore) 4 — — — — — — — 142
"Unplayed Piano" (with Lisa Hannigan) 4 — — — — — — — 24
"9 Crimes" 2006 14 — 7 33 — 61 39 56 29 9
"Rootless Tree" 2007 — — — — — — — — 50
"Dogs" — — — — — — 10 — 88
"I Don't Want to Change You" 2014 59 — 52 60 — — 53 — — My Favourite Faded Fantasy
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

Title Year Peak chart
positions		 Album
IRE
[38]		 UK
[39]
"Coconut Skins" 2012 65 — 9
"My Favourite Faded Fantasy" 2014 69 179 My Favourite Faded Fantasy

Film and TV contributions

Rice's songs have been heard on numerous television shows including American Idol, The L Word,True Blood, Hidden Palms, Bones, The Cleaner, Jericho, ER, The Black Donnellys, The OC, Alias, Lost, Huff, Crossing Jordan, Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, House, Spin 1038, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Inbetweeners, One Tree Hill, British television series, Misfits and the Korean drama, Spring Waltz.[40][41][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]

Rice's songs have appeared in films such as Goldfish Memory (2003), Reservation Road, Higher Ground, Closer, I am David, Stay, In Good Company, The Girl in the Café, Shrek the Third and Dear Frankie.[49][50][51][52]

His music is referenced in the 2009 novel The Suicide Club by Rhys Thomas, and his songs have been used in professional figure skating competitions.[53][54]

Collaborations (released)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "iTunes Store (pre-order)". iTunes Store. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "FAQ – Where was Damien born and where did he grow up?". DamienRice.com. n.d. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Should We Talk About The Weather?". Hot Press. Retrieved 12 September 2009. (Fee for article)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The story of O". Yahoo. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Damien Rice – Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Damien Rice – Album Completion". IMRO. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "UK Chart History for O". chartstats.com. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Damien Rice Readies second album". Billboard. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  9. ↑ "Damien Rice singles placement". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  10. ↑ "9 – Release info". DamienRice.com. n.d. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  11. ↑ "Last FM Concert Event Info". Last.fm. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  12. ↑ E-Online (22 July 2008) Sting, Matthews, Mayer Gamer for Tibet Than Beijing
  13. ↑ "Raise Hope for Congo". Raisehopeforcongomusic.org. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  14. ↑ "Inspired By Iceland". Inspired By Iceland. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  15. ↑ "FAQ at". Damienrice.com. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  16. ↑ "Music". Damien Rice. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  17. ↑ "New Album Confirmation". Youtube.com. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  18. ↑ "Album information". Damienrice.com/. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Aung San Suu Kyi the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient". The Burma Campaign UK. n.d. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  20. ↑ "'links' at". Damienrice.com. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 "Damien Rice release history". Irish charts. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "Damien Rice release history". Australian charts. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Hung, Steffen. "Discografie Damien Rice". Belgium (Flanders) Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Damien Rice". Belgium (Wallonia) Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 "Damien Rice release history". French charts. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 "Chartverfolgung / Damien Rice / Longplay" (in German). musicline.de PhonoNet. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Peak chart positions for albums in Italy:
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 "Damien Rice release history". Dutch charts. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 "Damien Rice release history". Norwegian charts. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 "Damien Rice release history". Swiss charts. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 "UK Chartlog: The Rabble Army – RZA". zobbel.de. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 "Billboard positions". allmusic.com. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  33. ↑ "2008 Multi-platinums". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  34. ↑ "Searchable database". IFPI. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 "Searchable Database". BPI. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  36. ↑ "Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  37. ↑ "Chartifacts". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  38. ↑ "Irish Charts – Week ending 20th September 2012". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  39. ↑ "Update 20.09.2014 : CHART LOG UK". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  40. ↑ "ER – If Not Now". CNET Networks. n.d. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "The Black Donnellys – A Stone of the Heart". CNET Networks. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  42. ↑ "Soundtracks for in Good Company (2004)". IMDb. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  43. ↑ "Damien Rice". IMDb. n.d. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  44. ↑ "Crossing Jordan – Music – Season Four". CNET Networks. n.d. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  45. ↑ "House – One Day, One Room – Notes". CNET Networks. n.d. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  46. ↑ "Grey's Anatomy – From a Whisper to a Scream – Music Featured in this Episode". CNET Networks. n.d. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  47. ↑ "Damien Rice". IMDb. n.d. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  48. ↑ "The Music of Shrek the Third: Royal Pain". RealNetworks. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  49. ↑ "Dear Frankie (2004)". IMDb. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  50. ↑ "Soundtracks for Closer (2004/I)". IMDb. n.d. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  51. ↑ "Soundtracks for I Am David (2003)". IMDb. n.d. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  52. ↑ "The Girl in the Cafe Movie – soundtrack". TheGirlInTheCafe.com. n.d. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  53. ↑
  54. ↑
  55. ↑ "Back to Beginning (feat. Damien Rice): Lamb: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  56. ↑ "David Hopkins + Damien Rice "There Are Debts"". YouTube. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  57. ↑ "Songs for Tibet – The Art of Peace (2 CD Set)". 12 August 2008. ASIN B001C32XQI. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  58. ↑ "Episode 211". Taratata (in French). 2 March 2007. France 4. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  59. ↑ "The Beekeeper". 22 February 2005. ASIN B00076EPQM. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  60. ↑ "Possibilities". 30 August 2005. ASIN B000AARK2Q. Retrieved 13 November 2011.

External links