Proving that Snow Patrol aren't the only act to make waves outsides of Bangor, Co Down, Northern Ireland native Foy Vance has been causing a stir over the past year with the release of his debut album 'Hope'.
Brimming with soul, funk, blues and jazz, Vance has seen two of the tracks on the album feature in 'Greys Anatomy', leading to a considerable boost in his profile in the US and Canada.
Debut single 'Gabriel and the Vagabond' was Vance's first song to air on the hit US TV show, and was later followed by 'Homebird', which also appeared on the 'Greys Anatomy 2' soundtrack.
That Vance's sound bares such a debt to a legion of black American artists such as Otis Redding, Richie Havens and Robert Johnson no doubt springs from his upbringing in the US.
Though born in Northern Ireland in 1974, Vance's family, led by his preacher father, relocated to Oklahoma when he was just a year old. His father's occupation meant that the family travelled extensively around the US, with Foy soaking up all that flowed from cities such as Alabama and New Orleans, as well as the way his father saw the world.
Such influences have been pumped into 'Hope', which was written, performed, recorded, produced and mixed by Vance himself at a cottage in the Mourne Mountains. Critical acclaim followed its release in July 2007 and Vance has since gone on to attract plaudits from everyone from Pete Townsend to Bonnie Raitt.
Embarking on a UK and Irish tour this month, 2008 is already shaping up to be a busy year for Vance. Having recently contributed to children's charity CD 'Tuesday's Child', Vance will follow his jaunt around the UK and Ireland with shows in the US in March.
He then returns to Ireland in April when he'll release a double A-side made up of a David Holmes remix of his track 'Be with Me' and a Future Cut remix of 'Shed a Little Light'.
Steve Cummins
www.foyvance.com
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