The Imaginary Suitcase

About: The imaginary suitcase

The imaginary suitcase is the one we carry along throughout our lives, the one that contains our dead or barely breathing illusions and the images of our life as we fantasize it.

The Imaginary Suitcase is also the solo avatar of Laurent Leemans, singer and guitarist in the acoustic folk-rock combo Ceilí Moss since 1996, and before that in La Vierge du Chancelier Rolin in the 90s.

Cracker sang "what the world needs now is another folksinger like I need a hole in my head" and they were not wrong, but in 2010, after 14 years spent in a band of 5 to 8 musicians playing full throttle Poguesey folk-rock, the desire to bring to life songs that didn’t fit in the Ceilí Moss sound got stronger than the fear of becoming the 1001st whining brat who strums two and a half chords and moans his small time existentialism, so that everyone understands what Schopenhauer meant when he wrote that boredom could be a metaphysical experience…

Whereas this project began as a mere recreation, and Laurent expected not much except the selfish satisfaction of seeing some personal songs come to life, The Imaginary Suitcase grew way beyond it's founder's wildest expectations with gigs (awkward at first to find yourself alone on stage when you've always had half a dozen excellent musicians behind your back...), praise and enthusiastic comments from the blogosphere and occasional cooperations with Marc Gunn (of the Brodbingnagian Bards), Jessica Kilroy, Seesayle or Marieke Lightband.

Soulful and ultra melodic songs built round a deep and versatile voice (think of the son Suzanne Vega and Nick Cave would have had) at times caressing, at times ominous, and deceptively simple guitar chords, lightfooted but equivocal. Can you say The Imaginary Suitcase is a sort of Belgian counterpart to The World Of Skin or maybe Joseph Arthur’s evil twin? Why not? And the listener will probably also perceive the influence of The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Smiths, Nick Cave, Rowland S. Howard, 16 Horsepower/Wovenhand, Joy Division, Paul Roland, Brendan Perry, Death In June, Hugo Race, The The or Swans.

In little more than two years, The Imaginary Suitcase has already released four self-produced records: Here’s to those we could not save in march 2012, Putting things on top of other things in february 2013, Full moon fever in september 2013 and the brand new Driftwood in march 2014. Live, Laurent uses different electric or acoustic guitars, an autoharp and some percussion to bring a surprisingly full, varied and generous performance for a guy alone.

CONTACT: http://www.theimaginarysuitcase.be/eng.htm

The Imaginary Suitcase – Official Website

http://www.theimaginarysuitcase.be/
The Imaginary Suitcase - Reverbnation
http://www.reverbnation.com/theimaginarysuitcase
The Imaginary Suitcase - Soundcloud
https://soundcloud.com/the-imaginary-suitcase
The Imaginary Suitcase – Last FM
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Imaginary+Suitcase
The Imaginary Suitcase - Facebook
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The Imaginary Suitcase - Twitter
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http://www.emusic.com/artist/the-imaginary-suitcase/13728810/
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Simon Fagan

About: Simon Fagan

An American sound with elements of Gospel, folk and acoustic rock, with comparisons to Ryan Adams, Ray Lamontagne and Paolo Nuttini; The truth is I grew up on a diet of Credence, Van Morrison, Miles Davis, Lizzy, Pink Floyd, and some Stevie for good measure. However, my influences stretch well beyond these icons.

My love for music started when I was very young, joining my local choir, followed by the local brass band and then on to school and Uni where I studied both Music and Trumpet. I also got to play with Irish Youth Orchestra of Ireland for a few years.

After college I came very close to joining the army brass band but failed to show up to the drug test! I know what you're thinking, but the actual fact is, I found the whole thing very formal and regimented. I wasn't looking for a pension job, but something more adventurous, where I could take my own risks and be in control.

I had been singing and playing guitar with a number of bands since I was 13 so the natural progression was to put my hand to writing my own music. In the last few years I have developed both as a songwriter and performer. For the first time ever, I can say with hand on heart, that I feel truly happy with the sound that's emerging. This is helped by a great backing band, who really get the music and make rehearsals and gigging seem effortless. I've had the pleasure of opening for the likes of Lionel Richie, Smokey Robbinson, Laura Izibor and more recently Ocean Colour Scene. In the last 18 months I've toured heavily throughout Ireland and the UK and even ventured as far as US, Canada and Egypt where the response was overwhelming.

I released a 4 track EP in March '09 called 'Hired and Fired' featuring brass and woodwind. As I started touring the EP my sound naturally moved away from the brass heavy arrangements and towards a more acoustic rock sound. Much of the new songs I was writing, were more acoustic based and didn't benefit from adding brass or woodwind.  It was also during this period that I formed a permanent band. Up until know I had called in friends and session players to perform with me.

Having a regular band allowed the songs to develop naturally from gig to gig and by the time we entered the studio to record the album the overall sound was there, if a few songs were still unwritten!

The album 'Outside Looking In' was released in June 2010 in Ireland and online and is available to buy, in those places where you go to buy music. The album includes "Damn Honey", "Memphis" and "Love Don't Work", which have all just been shortlisted for this years International Songwriting Competition and last years winner of the Performance category "Never Really Cried".

CONTACT: info@simonfagan.net

Simon Fagan – Official Website

http://www.simonfagan.net/
Simon Fagan - Soundcloud
http://soundcloud.com/simon-fagan
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http://www.myspace.com/simonfagan
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http://www.reverbnation.com/simonfagan
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http://simonfagan.tumblr.com/
Simon Fagan – Last FM
http://www.last.fm/music/Simon+Fagan
Simon Fagan - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_fagan
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http://www.facebook.com/simonfaganmusic
Simon Fagan - Twitter
http://twitter.com/simonfagan
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Simon Fagan - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/simonfagantv
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Simon Fagan – Bandcamp

https://simonfagan.bandcamp.com/

Simon Fagan - iTunes
http://itunes.apple.com/artist/simon-fagan/id280765978
Simon Fagan - eMusic
http://www.emusic.com/artist/simon-fagan/11998882/
Simon Fagan - Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BGP52UG