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****RAJKO to officially Launch his debut album at 'The Player Lounge' in Soho (London, UK) on Saturday the 14th February, 7pm. Tickets are available via the www.rajko.tv/store******************************************
****** ************* ALSO check out the new video for 'Run' - it's one of the singles from the new album.You can buy the new album at www.rajko.tv/store******************************************
********************My name is Rajko. I'm a London based independent songwriter. On February 14th I will officially launch my debut album, which is now on sale through CDBaby, Itunes and my own website www.rajko.tv. (it's also coming soon to Amazon and other online retailers, as well as leading independent record stores in the UK) It's called 'Poor as a Church Mouse' and it's a 14track acoustic/folk/pop LP which has been in the making for more almost 3years, recorded on a shoe-string budget with a lot of heart and soul and with the enormous help of Jeff Ross. Although the project is 'me', singer/songwriter, the music and the album is really three people: me, Nik and Adrianne. It was recorded everywhere from a rainy caravan in scotland, a bedroom in Bristol, a studio in Solvang...but mostly in two home studios in West London - mine and Jeff's. It was recorded the way It had to be done...with lots of limitations but with every ounce of sincerity and feeling and weakness and emotion and determination and strength that I have. Every word and every note of it has a story behind it for me...and so I hope it might have for other people when they listen. Probably in the last ten years I've written over a 100 songs that I'm proud of, but these are the 14 songs that I wanted to put on my first album. I wanted this to be where I start...Poor as a Church Mouse. Just Me (voice and guitar), Nik (2nd guitar and piano) and Adrianne (cello) - that's the sound of this album. A pretty simple and modest sound really, but definitely one of the hardest things I've ever tried to do. It's hard to explain why and I'm sure many things I've done in my life would sound much more challenging than simply completing my first album. But it was, and is one of my proudest and happiest achievements. There are always a few things in your life that stand out a mile in terms of their impact on you - and making this album...and finishing it...the whole journey - it's one of those things. I'm still co-directing a new project called GigAid, linking the UK gigging scene with worthy charitable causes. And I'm still teaching and taking on inspiring challenges that come along - but my music and my album are my soul, and if my heart is anywhere it's in music. I don't have a record company supporting or promoting me, but the time will come where that might change. In the meantime I just my songs, my belief in what i'm doing, the friends i make along the way and faith in something bigger than the short life we lead. So if you want to hear me play or support my musical journey, or simply tell me about a song of mine that reaches you...please do send me a message. If you are a producer or record company that hears me and is interested in supporting what i do and making the second album, the songs are ready and I'm ready to go.
In the meantime come along to one of my gigs while I'm in USA. If I'm not scheduled to perform in your city but you'd like to hear me, if you can arrange a gig (whether its in a bar, a cafe or your house) and you can arrange at least twenty people to be there to listen and buy my album...then i'll arrange the rest :) I'm always on for an adventure. If you only know me from Last Man Standing, as the 'fitness guru', I hope when you listen to my music you'll see that it's exactly the same person...maybe just sharing another side. All the best, Rajko
Last One Standing (see youtube clip below!) took almost a year and a half to film. We travelled to 12 remote tribes and met people that I would never have dreamed I'd get a chance to meet. It was life-changing in many many ways. Between trips I continued recording my albums and on location i was always playing, performing to tribesmen and and getting a lot of inspiration...
The show is now complete and we have returned to our normal lives, but it continues to be aired all across the globe and will continue to have an impact on my life as long as my memory allows me to remember the experience!I think I can honestly say that my music is 100% from the heart and almost never 'songwriting for the sake of songwriting'. If I feel something strongly, I write about it and create music to express that feeling....and that expression ends up as a song.I love to hear when a song of mine reaches people, cos that's what its all about. That's why i want to share my music with a thousand people and not just a few of my friends, because I'm hoping that the things i write about and the music i make will touch people in some way --- in the same way as songs by my favourite songwriters have moved me at different points in my life. Sometimes they've inspired me, sometimes just allowed me to let out emotion and sometimes just given me a satisfying shiver that songs can do when they are just right for the moment. On that note, thank you to Jim Croce, Eric Clapton, Paul Weller, John Lennon, Sarah McClachlan, David Gray, Damian Rice and many more. (the clip below is from a London performance of my acoustic album song 'Come To You')
