The Gig Cartel - Artist profiles: Doris Brendel

Doris Brendel, a singer of rare talent and pedigree, released her latest album, Eclectica, in May 2017 on Sky-rocket Records recorded in conjunction with producer and multi-instrumentalist Lee Dunham. The daughter of famed classical pianist Alfred Brendel, her distinctive vocals were the driving force behind 1990s alt-rockers The Violet Hour, who were signed to Sony when they released their now revered, classic album ‘The Fire Sermon’ in 1991.Various projects followed in the consequent years. A collection of recordings with ‘Violet Hour’ producer Pete Brown; an acoustic project featuring a collection of female singers including Sam Brown; A rock project called ‘Holy Cow’ funded by Polygram; a song writing project with producer Dave Beeson; even some dance records signed by Virgin and London Records respectively. Alongside these projects came a number of sessions and show band engagements.It wasn’t until 2010 that Brendel made time for a dedicated album project, with the result of the exceptional ‘the Last Adventure’. This coincided with the re-release of the ‘Fire Sermon’ along with her back catalogue. This was closely followed by the highly acclaimed ‘Not Utopia’ released in 2012, and the first project with guitarist and producer Lee Dunham, followed by ‘Upside Down World’ in 2015. 2017 has seen the release of the latest chapter in her career: ‘Eclectica, once again reflecting her multi-faceted personality with an eclectic collection of songs popularly described as 'Progressive Pop', and produced by Lee Dunham. ‘Upside Down World' spans pop, rock, prog and acoustic styles, confronting happy and sad topics with a humorous, angst-ridden style, blending them into a cocktail of sound and meaning. Think Janis Joplin or Skunk Anansie getting down with the Beatles and Muse. Brendel has worked with some notable people over the years, including Alvin Lee, Gary Moore, Sam Brown, Joe Brown, Herbie Flowers, and has toured extensively with Marillion as well as Nils Lofgren, John Farnham and Steve Marriott. She was also offered to sing with Pink Floyd on the Great Gig in the Sky tour, which she had to turn down due to already contracted tour commitments. This year she has completed 2 European tours - one with Wishbone Ash in Jan/Feb, another with Marillion’s Fish in Sept-Dec, as well as singing backing vocals for him. Brendel is planning to record a new album in 2019, as well as singing on Fish’s forthcoming album ‘Weltschmerz’ and further tours with him later in the year. Doris Brendel is one of the most accomplished and exciting live singers on the scene. Apart from first-class musicianship, she puts on incredibly visual shows, with outlandish steam-punk costumes and even laser gloves….