Signe Tollefsen
Encyclopedia
Signe Tollefsen (ˈsɪɡnə ˈtɒləfsən) is a US-Dutch
singer-songwriter
, settled in Amsterdam
, Netherlands
. Her music has been described as Folk Rock
.
Kyteman). She composed her first songs on guitar at the age of 14, inspired by artists such as Janis Joplin
, Edith Piaf
, and Paul Simon
. At 15, she moved to the UK to finish high school (
European School, Culham
) and studied classical singing at the Royal Northern College of Music
. She eventually gave up classical song, for studies in philosophy at the University of Hull
, when she started singing her own songs in public at Hull's infamous underground club "The Adelphi".
She moved back to the Netherlands to study medicine, but gave up and started studying at the Amsterdam Conservatory with René van Barneveld ('Tres Manos', the Urban Dance Squad
). In 2005, she played with Stephen Malkmus
('S.M.', Pavement
) in Italy and Germany.
In December 2006 she won the audience prize and the prize for best musician at the Grolsch Grote Prijs van Nederland in the category singer/songwriter, thus qualifying to record a promotion single and to be seen on well-known stages. Her picture was on the front page of newspaper "Sp!ts"
Between 2006 and 2009 she shared stages with Ane Brun
, Stephen Malkmus
, Alela Diane
, Luka Bloom
, and Japan
's singer David Sylvian
.
In 2008 famous Dutch singer Mathilde Santing
recorded her song "Sweet Tears" on her album "Forty-Nine".
In September 2009 Tollefsen's eponymous debut album came out on CoraZong Records, recorded in Los Angeles (USA) and Utrecht (NL). It was very well received by the press and was later released in Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and the UK.
In 2010 she toured the UK twice (April and November) and the USA and Canada (September).
Her EP, entitled "Baggage" came out in January 2011 and was produced by Ralph Timmermans. This album contained 6 covers and was published by Cavalier Records and V2.
In March 2011 she was a guest musician in De Wereld Draait Door, a popular Dutch TV show with an average of 1.5 million viewers, signing "Borrowed Song", which will appear on her second album.
Her second album "Hayes", also produced by Ralph Timmermans, is out in September 2011. Timmermans co-wrote "Daddy", "Scared" and "Here Is What".
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, settled in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Her music has been described as Folk Rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
.
Biography
Growing up in Utrecht, the Netherlands, as the child of an American father and a Dutch mother, Signe Tollefsen started to sing at the age of 7. She went to the "Kathedrale Koorschool Utrecht", the choirschool in Utrecht (other members were Colin Benders, better known asKyteman). She composed her first songs on guitar at the age of 14, inspired by artists such as Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
, Edith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
, and Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
. At 15, she moved to the UK to finish high school (
European School, Culham
European School, Culham
The European School in Culham, Oxfordshire, is one of 14 European Schools around Europe and the only one in United Kingdom and currently has around 800 Nursery/Primary and secondary students....
) and studied classical singing at the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
. She eventually gave up classical song, for studies in philosophy at the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
, when she started singing her own songs in public at Hull's infamous underground club "The Adelphi".
She moved back to the Netherlands to study medicine, but gave up and started studying at the Amsterdam Conservatory with René van Barneveld ('Tres Manos', the Urban Dance Squad
Urban Dance Squad
Urban Dance Squad was a Dutch rap rock band formed after what was originally intended as a one-time jam-session at a festival in Utrecht on December 20, 1986...
). In 2005, she played with Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and icon, and a member of the band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.-Early years:...
('S.M.', Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
) in Italy and Germany.
In December 2006 she won the audience prize and the prize for best musician at the Grolsch Grote Prijs van Nederland in the category singer/songwriter, thus qualifying to record a promotion single and to be seen on well-known stages. Her picture was on the front page of newspaper "Sp!ts"
Between 2006 and 2009 she shared stages with Ane Brun
Ane Brun
Ane Brun is a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, four of which are studio albums, a live DVD and a collection of duets...
, Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and icon, and a member of the band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.-Early years:...
, Alela Diane
Alela Diane
Alela Diane Menig is an American singer and songwriter living in Portland, Oregon.-Life and career:Alela Diane Menig, she grew up singing with her musician parents and performing in the school choir...
, Luka Bloom
Luka Bloom
Luka Bloom is an Irish folk-rock singer-songwriter. He is the younger brother of Irish folk singer Christy Moore.-Early life:...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's singer David Sylvian
David Sylvian
David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
.
In 2008 famous Dutch singer Mathilde Santing
Mathilde Santing
Mathilde Santing is a Dutch singer .Santing was born in Amstelveen, The Netherlands. She started receiving national attention in 1981 after she appeared with Sonja Barend in a Dutch television programme called Sonja Op Maandag.Over the last 25 years she has released a steady stream of albums,...
recorded her song "Sweet Tears" on her album "Forty-Nine".
In September 2009 Tollefsen's eponymous debut album came out on CoraZong Records, recorded in Los Angeles (USA) and Utrecht (NL). It was very well received by the press and was later released in Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and the UK.
In 2010 she toured the UK twice (April and November) and the USA and Canada (September).
Her EP, entitled "Baggage" came out in January 2011 and was produced by Ralph Timmermans. This album contained 6 covers and was published by Cavalier Records and V2.
In March 2011 she was a guest musician in De Wereld Draait Door, a popular Dutch TV show with an average of 1.5 million viewers, signing "Borrowed Song", which will appear on her second album.
Her second album "Hayes", also produced by Ralph Timmermans, is out in September 2011. Timmermans co-wrote "Daddy", "Scared" and "Here Is What".
Reviews
thisull : Quite simply put Signe has the most amazing voice. Her vocal range has to be heard to be believed, the controlled and measured delivery marvelled at, the maturity and richness of tone surprising in one so young. [...] Her voice hypnotic, her guitar style minimalist, almost ponderous as she falls into full bodied deep sounds or pin prick sharp notes.Discography
- Signe Tollefsen - September 2009
- 1. It Smells of You
- 2. History Class
- 3. You, Me & The Brewers
- 4. Jeff
- 5. Hooked (You Spit In My Whiskey)
- 6. King of the Fire
- 7. Mama
- 8. My Old Man
- 9. Sweet Tears
- 10. Up To No Good
- 11. It Was Ooo
- 12. Oh My!
- 13. This Is It
- Baggage - January 2011
- 1. You Are My Sunshine (Jimmy Davis)
- 2. No Thank You (The Woodwards)
- 3. Glory Box (Portishead)
- 4. Dirty Diana (Michael Jackson)
- 5. Down By The Water (PJ Harvey)
- 6. As The World Falls Down (David Bowie)
- Hayes - September 2011
- 1. 185 MPH
- 2. Drunk Orchestra
- 3. Speak To Me
- 4. Since I'm Leaving
- 5. Daddy
- 6. Where You Been
- 7. Make Me A (Wo)man
- 8. Homecoming
- 9. Borrowed Song
- 10. Here Is What
- 11. Scared