Boris a.k.a. Bo-Rush was involved in music at a very young age. His father is a well-known jazz musician and teacher at a well-known music academy in Amsterdam. On his 17th he was accepted at the music academy in Maastricht, but after a year he decided that it really wasn't ‘his thing’.
Instead of directing on the theory of music Boris would rather be busy with the practical side. In 2001 he was part of the soul formation Sofuja (which stands for Soul, Funk and Jazz), which was especially successful in Spain. In 2003 Boris decided to take part in Idols, because it presented him with a perfect platform to present his talent to a broader audience. From his first impressive audition 'till the inclined final it was clear that Boris would be the winner of the show. His voice was recognized immediately and the jury was unanimous about his future: he was talented enough to become a phenominal artist.
Boris is strongly influenced by great soul legends as Prince and Michael Jackson, but also their predecessors Otis Rescue, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway, Boris reaches back to the roots of old soul.
His debut album "Rely On Me" consists of retro-ish soul with funk and jazz influences, completed with infectious poptracks and as finaliser a brilliant version of Donny Hathaway’s "For All We Know". He worked along side three different teams on this album. He worked with the producer duo Eric van Tijn and Jochem Fluitsma together with The Result (Alain Clark & Cristiaan Hof) and the boys from the hiphop formation Relax. The most impressive part of the album is the recognizable, soulful and flexible voice of Boris. The album reached in Holland it's golden status within a week. The first single "When You Think Of Me" topped the Dutch charts for several weeks. The single sold over an extraordinary 80.000 copies and became platinum.
From July 2004 Boris embarks on a series of performances with his own live band through Holland. His performances were a tremendous success. He sang a duet with Angie Stone for Music channel the BOX. The videoclip with Angie Stone becomes the most viewed and requested videoclip in history on music channels such as MTV, TMF and The Box. The second single “MSG†(My Special Girlfriend) becomes a top ten hit on the Dutch pop charts. In July 2005 Boris produces a hit single with hip-hop band "Relax". The single named "Relax ft. Bo-rush - No sunrise" ends up in the TOP 10 of the Dutch pop charts. Boris and Relax frequently perform together. They also performed at the North Sea Jazz festival in 2005.
After a frantic start of his career Boris took time to rest and get re-energized. He made a tour around the world to get new inspiration and to meet musicians who were just as passionate about soul music as he is. His musical journey lead him to the UK, where he wrote with Blair McKichan, Sam frank and Felix Howard (they worked with the Sugababes, Jamie Cullum and Will Young) and to New York and Atlanta where he wrote with The Family Stand. It was a productive period where Boris wrote about 50 tracks and from which the best 12 ended up on his second album ‘Holy Pleasure’.
This album is full of honest funky music with an international style. It’s groovy and soulful. Or as a reviewer of the Dutch magazine ‘Jazz Nu’ comments: “a delicous and sensual album where Boris finds a way to rub soul, funk and jazz against pop music.â€
The album will be released on October 23rd.
More information:
www.borismusic.nl
©2006: Design PPGH JWT Artists
executed for MySpace
by Bianca van Dam
