Biography

SIGNE TOLLEFSEN                                                               Photos Anne Hopman / moreorlessdesign.nl 

Listen here to  'WHERE YOU BEEN' - http://snd.sc/s8awEN                                               

When the Dutch / American Signe Tollefsen moved from the UK to Holland to study music at the Amsterdam Conservatory in 2004, she also started successfully performing for a constantly increasing and, as it turns out, very loyal audiences. A passing American tourist invited her to record some songs, at his expense, in Los Angeles which led to the release her critically acclaimed title less debut album.  

There's a whiff of Laura Marling in Signe's voice, deft lyricism and cleverly emotive arrangements...An evocative and beautiful debut - 4 stars [Islington Gazette and other North London newspapers]

Tollefsen followed the release of the praised debut with the equally critically acclaimed covers E.P. Baggage.  An unexpected move caused by a request from Dutch National Radio to perform Michael Jackson’s Dirty Diana live-on-air. She turned the song inside out and brilliantly captured the essence of it. Jaws dropped on the studio floor. Remarkable too is that when reviewing Baggage several critics remarked that Signe’s version of P.J. Harvey’s Down By The Water was even better than the original.

Hayes is Signe Tollefsen second full album, which the singer describes as ‘from Signe Tollefsen-with-flowers to Signe Tollefsen-with-balls’. There are traces of her debut CD and Baggage but Signe’s sound has moved on from acoustic to more electric. Whatever changed, what remains the same is: as always, that strong powerful voice, the intensity, the emotion, the quality of song writing. The elements that rightfully made her a winner of 2 awards at the Grand Prix of The Netherlands that made legendary Dutch singer Mathilde Santing record one of her songs and that put her on tour with Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus amongst others. And that made famous and well-spoken television personality (and ex-football player) Jan Mulder stammer after her live-on-air-performance ‘just gorgeous’.

Hayes was recorded in (Four None Blondes) Linda Perry’s studio in Los Angeles and the We Are Junkies Studio in Eindhoven Holland. The latter is also the home base of the extremely talented band Mindpark, whose Ralph Timmermans co-produced the album with Signe Tollefsen. This duo also plays most of the instruments on ‘Hayes’.

‘A magical cooperation’ says Signe. And the result....an equally magical album! 

www.signetollefsen.com    http://signetollefsen.bandcamp.com/album/hayes