Damien Rice is an Irish singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Rice began his musical career as a member of the 1990s rock band Juniper, who were signed to PolyGram Records in 1997.
The band achieved moderate success with a few singles, but the planned album was based on record company policy and nothing came of it in the end.
After leaving the band he worked as a farmer in Tuscany and did business all over Europe before returning to Ireland in 2001 and starting a solo music career with the rest of the band becoming Bell X1.
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 together, Rice released his third studio album My Favorite Faded Fantasy on October 31, 2014.
Rice's personal activities include musical contributions to charitable causes such as Songs for Tibet, the Freedom Campaign and the Enough Project.
Early life of DAMIEN RICE and Juniper
Damien Rice was born December 7, 1973 in Celbridge (Ireland). His parents are George and Maureen Rice. He formed the rock band Juniper with Paul Noonan, Dominic Philips, David Geraghty and Brian Crosby in 1991.
The group met while they were attending Salesian College High School in Celbridge, County Kildare. After touring all over Ireland, the band released their debut EP Manna in 1995.
The band (based in Straffan, County Kildare) continued to tour and signed a six-album deal with PolyGram. Their recording projects spawned singles Weatherman and The World Is Dead which received positive reviews. They also recorded but never released Tongue.
After achieving his musical goals with Juniper, Rice became frustrated with the artistic compromises that the record label required, and he left the group in 1998.
Rice moved to Tuscany (Italy) and farmed for a while before returning to Ireland. Returning for the second time, Rice gave a demo recording to his cousin, music producer David Arnold, who then gifted Rice a mobile studio.
Solo career of Damien Rice
In 2001, Rice's The Blower Daughter hit the top 40 of the chart. Over the next year, he continued to record his album with guitarist Mark Kelly, New York drummer Tom Osander (Tomo), Parisian pianist Gene Meunier, London-based producer David Arnold, County Meath vocalist Lisa Hannigan, and cellist Vivienne Long.
Rice then went on tour in Ireland with Hannigan, Tomo, Vivienne, Mark and Dublin bassist Shane Fitzsimons.
In 2002, the singer's debut album O was released in Ireland, the UK and the US. The album peaked at No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart and stayed on the chart for 97 weeks, selling 650 copies in the US.
The album won a Shortlist Music Award, with Cannonball and Volcano hitting the UK Top 30.
In 2006, Damien Rice released his second album, 9, which was recorded two years earlier. In 2007, the singer performed at the Glastonbury Festival in England and the Rock Werchter Festival in Belgium.
In 2008, he released the song Making Noise for the album Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace in support of the 14th Dalai Lama and Tibet.
In 2010, Rice played the song "Lone soldier" in the Enough project and at the Iceland Inspires concert held in Hlömskalagardurinn, near downtown Reykjavik.
Rice covered the Juniper Crosseyed Bear song for the compilation album Help: A day in life. Rice's albums are released under his Heffa label (originally DRM) in Ireland and Vector Records in North America. Recordings released in the UK, Europe and elsewhere were published by 14th Floor Records through Warner Music.
In the spring of 2011, the debut album of the French actress and singer Melanie Laurent was released. He appeared on two tracks on her debut album En t'attendant, working on the five tracks included on the album.
In May 2013, Rice informed audiences at the 2013 Seoul Jazz Festival that he was working on a new album.
On September 4, 2014, Rice's official Twitter account announced his third album, My Favorite Faded Fantasy, due for release on October 31. On Damien Rice's official website, the official release date was November 3, 2014.
The album My Favorite Faded Fantasy with the first single "I Don't Want to Change You" was released worldwide on November 10, 2014 to critical acclaim from NPR.
Robin Hilton stated that "Damien Rice's upcoming album is incredible..." and the London Evening Standard said "Damien Rice... is back with one of the albums of the year."
Personal life
Rumors that Damien Rice is currently dating Melanie Laurent (French actress) have not been confirmed. However, there have been reports that he is working with the actress on her debut album.
