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Steph Fraser
Fraser in Catherine North Studios, Ontario, Canada during recording of her debut album due out October 2009.
Background information
Born	29 November 1992 (1992-11-29) (age 17)
Origin	Lancashire, England
Genres	Singer songwriter, folk rock
Occupations	Singer/songwriter
Instruments	singing, guitar, piano
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Sonic vista music
Associated acts	IT, Man-made Noise
Website	StephFraser.co.uk
Members
Steph Fraser, Phil Simpson, Matt Lockwood
Former members
Stephen Ladley

Stephanie Fraser (born 29 November 1992), is a pop-folk, singer-songwriter from Lancashire, England.

[edit] Career

Fraser has toured extensively in the UK and Canada including 2007 performances at the BBC Radio 2 Blackpool Illuminations Switch On Event where she played in front of 19,000 people and shared the bill with McFly, Natalie Imbruglia and Natasha Bedingfield. This was after she had won the Blackpool Evening Gazette young talent contest.^[1]

She signed to the independent label Sonic vista music in September 2007. In March 2008 she was invited to perform at Canadian Music Week at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Her label provided her with the opportunity to record at Catherine North Studios in Hamilton, Ontario while she was in Canada. The recordings, which were overseen by Canadian producer Dan Achen resulted in her first EP "Purple Sun" being released in May the same year. The single was well received with Rock'N'Reel magazine saying she had real potential.^[2]

The single was also featured on the BBC Radio Merseyside show "On The Beat" hosted by Spencer Leigh, a 'juke box jury' style programme. One of the panel members was Sam Leach the former Beatles mentor and promotor who said that Steph was heading for the big time and that he could listen to her all night.^[3] Steph was involved in a transatlantic link up with BBC Radio Lancashire who interviewed her in Canada and subsequently featured her in numerous programmes including sessions and intimate theatre performances at their studios in Blackburn, Lancashire. In August 2008 she embarked on her first Canadian Tour where she played 10 shows including a support slot to Canadian folk singer Heather Dale. She also recorded another batch of songs at Catherine North Studios during the trip.

Fraser parted company with collaborator Stephen Ladley in 2008 and began working with young musician Phil Simpson and performed for the second time at both Canadian Music Week 2009 and Liverpool Sound City 2009 as a showcasing artist.

She released her second EP/single "Pretend" in May 2009 which utilised a song from the Catherine North Studios sessions and also 2 tracks recorded at Spacehouse Studios in London which was produced by Nick Jackson from the band IT. Rupert Greenall from the band The Fixx also collaborated and played on the tracks.

In June 2009 Fraser and Simpson recruited Cajon player Matt Lockwood and started touring as a trio, and played at the Beverley Festival.^[4], the Hull Freedom Festival and the Musicport World Music Festival in Bridlington. The 3rd EP 'Recession Proof' was released on Sonic vista music in November 2009. Steph opened for the famous British comedian Phil Cool at two shows in Nov/Dec 2009.

[edit] Releases

[edit] EPs

• Purple Sun EP (2008 - SVRCD005)

1. "Purple Sun"
2. "Weight of Water"
3. "Since I Saw You"
4. "Purple Sun (Radio Edit)"

• Pretend EP (2009 - SVRCD008)

1. "Pretend"
2. "Swimming Into The Dark"
3. "Ballad of a Smart Arse"
4. "Tea"

• Recession Proof EP (2009 - SVRCD013)

1. "Recession Proof"
2. "Roading"
3. "Bird Song"

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Hamilton Spectator, Canada article
• HMV instore article
• Video for 'Weight of Water'