Rosie Vanier
Encyclopedia
Rosie Vanier is a British singer and keyboard player from Cornwall
. She was a founding member and the front woman of Rosie and the Goldbug
; following the break-up of the band in 2009, she has embarked on a solo career.
"on a plot of land with no electricity, no heat, no TV, just a piano". Her mother and part-Native American father used to go on cycle tours in Europe, playing folk
ballads along the way to entertain passers-by. She studied music at Roehampton University
, and then returned home to Cornwall to form Rosie and the Goldbug in 2007, with bass player Lee "Pixie" Matthews and drummer Sarah "Plums" Morgan. Rosie and the Goldbug soon built up a reputation as a live band in Cornwall and started to attract wider attention. They toured Europe with Cyndi Lauper
for most of 2008.
The band released an eponymous album
on their manager's label, Lover Records, produced by Jim Eliot of electro pop duo Kish Mauve
; Vanier entered into writing partnerships with Marcella Detroit
and Glaswegian
band El Presidente
for several songs on the record. In August 2009, Vanier announced via the band's MySpace site that "Rosie and the Goldbug are over". Vanier then embarked on a solo career, under the management of Fachtna O'Ceallaigh, who has worked with Sinéad O'Connor
, U2
and the Boomtown Rats; she completed her debut solo EP, Ep1, in November 2010. Since going solo, she has collaborated with Adam and the Ants
guitarist and songwriter Marco Pirroni
, who was introduced to her by O'Ceallaigh, writing and recording new tracks together. She released a second EP, Black Cats and Black Stars, in October 2011.
as "Kate Bush on crack with Goldfrapp on synths", her voice moving "effortlessly from seductive whispers to banshee wails". Q Magazine characterised her "enchanting howl" as "somewhere between Siouxsie & The Banshees and Cyndi Lauper having a sing-off with Kate Bush". A review of an Austin
, Texas live concert in NME
described her vocal style as ranging from Lene Lovich
to Amanda Palmer
. Simon Price
, writing for The Independent
, stated that "classically trained singer-pianist Rosie Vanier has a voice which leaps from sugary pop to operatic whoops, her ivories chiming through a repertoire ranging from the turbulent to the serene, and even juddering Moroder electro-disco". Her solo EP, featuring a more aggressive style, was well received in The Cornishman
: "... it's all here – Rosie's sex kitten, Betty Boop-gone-bad vocals, pummelling bass, choruses to die for and skittish hip hop beats. A definite step up from the Goldbug."
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. She was a founding member and the front woman of Rosie and the Goldbug
Rosie and the Goldbug
Rosie and the Goldbug were a British indie-rock trio active from 2007 to August 2009.-History:The band were from Cornwall, UK. They formed in 2007, after lead singer and keyboard player Rosie Vanier had completed her music studies at Roehampton University and returned home, eager to form a band...
; following the break-up of the band in 2009, she has embarked on a solo career.
Life and career
Vanier grew up in Bodmin MoorBodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....
"on a plot of land with no electricity, no heat, no TV, just a piano". Her mother and part-Native American father used to go on cycle tours in Europe, playing folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ballads along the way to entertain passers-by. She studied music at Roehampton University
Roehampton University
The University of Roehampton is a campus university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, south-west London.-History:...
, and then returned home to Cornwall to form Rosie and the Goldbug in 2007, with bass player Lee "Pixie" Matthews and drummer Sarah "Plums" Morgan. Rosie and the Goldbug soon built up a reputation as a live band in Cornwall and started to attract wider attention. They toured Europe with Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
for most of 2008.
The band released an eponymous album
Rosie and the Goldbug (album)
Rosie and the Goldbug was the eponymous debut album by Rosie and the Goldbug, released on September 15, 2008, on the band manager's label, Lover Records...
on their manager's label, Lover Records, produced by Jim Eliot of electro pop duo Kish Mauve
Kish Mauve
Kish Mauve is a British electropop group. The group was formed in 2005 in London, England, and consists of Mima Stilwell and Jim Eliot ....
; Vanier entered into writing partnerships with Marcella Detroit
Marcella Detroit
Marcella Detroit is a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. She was a member of the band Shakespears Sister, along with Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama. Detroit's soprano voice provided lead vocals on their biggest hit, "Stay," which was No...
and Glaswegian
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
band El Presidente
El Presidente (band)
El Presidente was a pop rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 2002 by former and current Gun member Dante Gizzi, the band gained major exposure with slots at T in the Park 2005, V Festival 2005 and again at T in the Park in 2006...
for several songs on the record. In August 2009, Vanier announced via the band's MySpace site that "Rosie and the Goldbug are over". Vanier then embarked on a solo career, under the management of Fachtna O'Ceallaigh, who has worked with Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and the Boomtown Rats; she completed her debut solo EP, Ep1, in November 2010. Since going solo, she has collaborated with Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
guitarist and songwriter Marco Pirroni
Marco Pirroni
Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer...
, who was introduced to her by O'Ceallaigh, writing and recording new tracks together. She released a second EP, Black Cats and Black Stars, in October 2011.
Reception
Vanier's distinctive vocal and instrumental style has been described in The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
as "Kate Bush on crack with Goldfrapp on synths", her voice moving "effortlessly from seductive whispers to banshee wails". Q Magazine characterised her "enchanting howl" as "somewhere between Siouxsie & The Banshees and Cyndi Lauper having a sing-off with Kate Bush". A review of an Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas live concert in NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
described her vocal style as ranging from Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich is an American singer based in England, who first gained attention as part of the New Wave music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her most popular hit single was "Lucky Number", first released in 1979.-Early years:...
to Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
. Simon Price
Simon Price
Simon Price is a British music journalist and club promoter, born on 25 September 1967 in the Welsh town of Barry. He is now best known for his weekly review section in The Independent on Sunday and his book on Manic Street Preachers.-Career:...
, writing for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, stated that "classically trained singer-pianist Rosie Vanier has a voice which leaps from sugary pop to operatic whoops, her ivories chiming through a repertoire ranging from the turbulent to the serene, and even juddering Moroder electro-disco". Her solo EP, featuring a more aggressive style, was well received in The Cornishman
The Cornishman
The Cornishman is a weekly newspaper based in Penzance, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is published every Thursday.It formerly had a separate edition to cover the Isles of Scilly. However, it now just has one edition which covers the whole of the Penwith peninsula as well as the Isles of Scilly.It is...
: "... it's all here – Rosie's sex kitten, Betty Boop-gone-bad vocals, pummelling bass, choruses to die for and skittish hip hop beats. A definite step up from the Goldbug."
EPs
- 2010 – Ep1 (1. "Little Suicides" – 2. "Dejavu" – 3. "False Alarms")
- 2011 – Black Cats and Black Stars
External links
- Official website
- Ep1 on MySpace
- Rosie Vanier on YouTube