Fantine (musician)

Fantine

Performing live (Sydney)
Background information
Birth name Fantine Maria Pritoula
Born 6 February 1984
Origin Moscow, Russia
Genres Indie/Electro/Soul
Occupation(s) Musician,
singer/songwriter
Instruments Vocals, piano
Years active 2009–present
Labels Independent
Website Official Site

Fantine (born Fantine Maria Pritoula; 6 February 1984[1]) is a Russian-born Australian multilingual singer/songwriter of Russian and Dominican descent.[2] Fantine is currently residing in Sydney, Australia.[3] She debut on the Australian indie music scene in 2010 as a featured artist in a collaboration with Space Invadas (Katalyst (musician) and Steve Spacek) resulting in a single titled Super Sweet.[4]

Fantine's first solo release, Rubberoom (2011), was first aired on Triple J in February 2011.[5] The song was also aired on Australian national television programs including Rage[6] and Video Hits.[7] The single was promptly followed by her second release, Eleven, (2011)[8] and third release, Perfect Strangers (2011), produced in the UK by Gorillaz producer Jason Cox.[9]

The year 2012 saw Fantine working on her debut Album,[10] recorded in Australia and produced by UK producer Lee Groves.[11] Don't Come Around is the first single lifted off the upcoming album.[12] It was first aired on 16 May 2012 by Home and Hosed presenter Dom Alessio on Triple J.[13]

Early years

Born to Russian father (Anatoli Pritoula) and Dominican mother (Rita Pritoula), Fantine and sister Alexandra, were raised in a tri-lingual household (Russian, Spanish, English).[14] The family immigrated to Australia in 1992,[1] but returned to Russia in 1996.

Fantine returned to Australia in 2001 to study at the Notre Dame University, Western Australia in Perth, Western Australia. She was enrolled in a Bachelor of Law and Accounting.[1] While studying, Fantine performed live with a local band Soul Corporation. During this period, music was largely a hobby.[2] In 2007, Fantine commenced a Bachelor of Jazz Performance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, but deferred studies after a year to focus on her musical pursuits.

Music career

Collaborative work

Fantine's music career began in 2009 when she signed a management deal with The Coady Group[15] and relocated to Sydney. In her first year in Sydney Fantine was introduced to Sydney based band Space Invadas, the new project between Australian indie hip-hop producer Katalyst (musician) and Steve Spacek.[16] Together they recorded a collaboration track titled Super Sweet. It featured Fantine on vocals and was lifted off Space Invada's album Soul:Fi (2010).[17] Super Sweet aired was first aired on Triple J in March 2010.[18] In support of the release of Soul:Fi, the band toured Australia performing at festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, Future Music Festival (Future Entertainment) and the rural Groovin' the Moo Festival.[14] During those performances Fantine was featured as a guest vocalist, singing Super Sweet among other songs.

Solo work

From June through August 2010, Fantine spent time in the US and UK co-writing music for her forthcoming EP and Album with a series of writers including Australian ARIA Award winning writer Ben Lee, songwriter and producer Sacha Skarbek, and Leeds based writers/producers John Beck and Steve Chrisanthou.[19]

Fantine's first solo release was a single titled Rubberoom (Rubberoom) (February 2011), a song about "the place where lost ideas go".[20] It was co-written with UK writer/producer Alex Gray[21] and was first aired on Triple J in February 2011.[5] The release of the song was followed by the airing of the music video on Australian national television programs including Rage, where the music video was awarded the status of "Indie Video Clip of The Week"[6] and Video Hits (Australian TV series) as part of the 2011 Predictions Segment.[7] Rubberoom was followed by Fantine's second release, titled Eleven (Eleven) (May 2011). This song delves into the "superstition and mysticism of the number Eleven".[8] The track was co-written with Sydney based jazz pianist and composer Marcello Maio. The song was recorded and produced in Sydney by producer Jared Underwood, also drummer for Sydney band Coda. The music video for Eleven was released in July 2011.

Fantine's third release Perfect Strangers first aired on Nova (radio network) in December 2012. The release was promptly followed by a music video, which was first aired on Rage (TV program) on 17 February 2012.

Live performances and TV appearances

Guest appearances

During her time with Space Invadas, Fantine made appearances at the following festivals :

Days Like This (2010)
Sydney Festival (Beck's Bar) (2010)
Playground Weekender (2010)
Sound Safari (2010)
Future Music Festival (2010)
Golden Plains Festival (2010)
Groovin' the Moo (2010)
Peats Ridge Festival (2010)

And had a cameo appearance in the music video for the single "Done it Again". Fantine was also featured as a guest vocalist with Space Invadas during the launch of their album Soul:Fi at the Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)[22] and The Toff (Melbourne).

Support slots

In March 2011 Fantine performed a support slot for Melbourne based soul band Electric Empire.[23] The performance received positive reviews.[23]

Fantine also performed backing vocals for Eurythmics David A. Stewart, who accompanied Stevie Nicks as a special guest during her November/December (2011) tour of Australia.[24]

In February 2012 Fantine performed support slots for Erykah Badu, US based soul man, Mayer Hawthorne. This was followed by a support slot with Daniel Merriweather in April 2012.[12]

Solo showcases and tours

To promote the release of her single Rubberoom, Fantine performed at a series of showcases, playing Nationally and Internationally at the following venues:

Mojo's (Perth, Australia 2011)
Tabac (Auckland, New Zealand 2011)
GoodGod Small Club (Sydney, Australia 2011)
Northcote Social Club (Melbourne, Australia 2011)
La Cantina de el Agave (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 2011)


To promote the release of her single Eleven, Fantine toured Nationally and Internationally at the following venues:

Mojo's (Perth, Australia 2011)
Beach Road Hotel (Sydney, Australia 2011)
Great Northern Hotel (Newcastle, Australia 2011)
X&Y Bar (Bisrbane, Australia 2011)
Byron Bay Brewery (Byron Bay, Australia 2011)
The Evelyn Hotel (Melbourne, Australia 2011)
Rocket Bar (Adelaide, Australia 2011)
Juice Bar (Auckland, New Zealand 2011)


Other performances included:

The Beresford Hotel 11.11.11 (Sydney, Australia 2011)
Peats Ridge Festival (2011)
The Basement – backing vocals for Afrofunk band The Liberators (Sydney)

TV appearances

Landed Music (AU, 2011)
Drew and Shannon Live on FOUR (NZ, 2011)
U live (TV series) (NZ, 2011)
Chevere Nights (Dom. Rep., 2011)
Stafford Brothers Season 2, "Miami is Calling", Season Finale (2012)

Discography

Singles

Year Title AU Peak Chart Position Certifications EP/Album
2010 Rubberoom
—
—
 TBA
2011 Eleven
—
—
 TBA
2011 Perfect Strangers
—
—
 TBA
2012 Don't Come Around
—
—
 TBA

Music videos

Year Title Details
2011 Rubberoom Directed by Alex Roberts (Art vs. Science)
2011 Eleven Directed by Francis Coady
2012 Perfect Strangers Directed by Timothy Baker
2012 Don't Come Around Directed by Luke Shanahan

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chris Urankar, "She's The One – Fantine", Instyle Magazine, June 2011, page 117.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ren Kirk, "Fantine Pritoula Interview", 3 News, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  3. ↑ 3D World Magazine (Sydney), 30 March 2011
  4. ↑ Tim Paris, Space Invadas + Fantine Pritoula, Concrete Playground, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Fantine Biography", Ish Media, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Rage Playlist – Saturday, 5 February 2011", Rage, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Playlist", Video Hits, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Niche Productions Welcomes Fantine To Its Artist Agency Roster", Niche Productions, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  9. ↑ Christie Eliezer "Fantine records with Gorillaz producer", The Music Network, Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  10. ↑ Linley Wilkie "Preview: Fantine", The Melbourne Times Weekly, Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "FANTINE‘S Sydney Winter Residency at Upstairs Beresford", AAA Backstage, Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lily "Fantine – Don’t Come Around", The Orange Press, Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Dom Alessio "Wednesday May 16", Home and Hosed: New Australian Music, Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Undercover News – Introducing Fantine", Undercover, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  15. ↑ "Artist Management – Signings", The Coady Group, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  16. ↑ Clarence Knight "Space Invadas: Soul:Fi", Music Feeds, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "Space Invadas – Soul:Fi – out on BBE", Paris DJs, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  18. ↑ "Super Sweet – Space Invadas", JPlay, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  19. ↑ Chris Honnery, "He Said She Said with Fantine", The Brag Magazine, 4 April 2011.
  20. ↑ "Introducing Fantine" The Outside Organisation, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  21. ↑ "Fantine Launches Debut Single", Sydney Unleashed, Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  22. ↑ , Johnno Siedler, "Space Invadas, Fantine", Brag Magazine, 17 January 2011.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Chris Familton, "Electric Empire, Fantine", Drum Media, 22 March 2011.
  24. ↑ Sakib Hamid,"Fantine to tour with Stevie Nicks and play Upstairs Beresford", The AU Review, 27 October 2011.

External links