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     Christian Gisborne is an independent singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and founder, and lead singer, guitarist and keyboardist of Velvet Starlings. Gisborne is known for a powerful 60s era Eric Burdon influenced vocal style and a commanding and dynamic stage presence inviting media & industry insider comparisons to Jack White and Ty Segall. Early musical influences include artists such as The Beatles, The Who and The Doors.

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Gisborne’s self-titled debut EP, Velvet Starlings, was a collaboration with British producer/writer Roger Gisborne (leader of 90s Brit Rock band,Plastiscene) for Sound x 3 / Rock N Rolla Records which was released in late 2018, supported by dates at the Live At Heart Music Festival and SXSW ME in Sweden, where Gisborne’s performances resulted in performance opportunities at Summerfest, Canadian Music Week, The Great Escape and other international festivals.

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The single, Sold Down The River, showcases Dylan-esque lyrics, a soulful Hammond B3 organ, gritty guitars and raw blues inspired vocals. The track caught the attention of KROQ and reached #1 (three times) on Kat Corbett’s “Locals Only” show. The official video released in May 2019 features the mural work of Shepard Fairey, world-renowned American contemporary street artist, activist and founder of Obey.

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2019 kicked off with a sold-out show supporting Barns Courtney in Los Angeles. In May 2019, Sound x 3 /Rock N Rolla Records released the much anticipated follow up mini-album, Love Everything, Love Everyone. The album was produced and written by Christian Gisborne and Roger Gisborne in Los Angeles, with engineering and mixing by Josiah Mazzaschi (Smashing Pumpkins, The Kills, Jesus & Mary Chain and Deep Valley) and mastering by Brian Lucy (Cage The Elephant, Black Keys, Beck, Arctic Monkeys), who also mastered the self-titled EP.

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The mini-album adopts a slightly heavier sound, mirroring the dynamic live performance, and is lyrically and sonically the next step in the evolution of the Velvet Starlings’ sound. The first single, Kids in Droves (released Summer, 2019), speaks to an era where “everyone spends all of their time on devices ‘liking’ and ‘loving’ everything," says Christian Gisborne. Kids in Droves received favorable reviews and airplay in the USA (including influential stations such as KROQ, Sirius XM, 91x and KCSN) as well as BBC Radio in the UK. Legendary BBC Scotland DJ Billy Sloan has been a massive supporter of Gisborne. Other supporters include Shepard Fairey, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Kevin Bronson (KCSN DJ, BuzzbandsLA & former LA Times Music Editor) and legendary tastemakers, DJ Rodney Bingenheimer and DJ/curator Tim Pyles. Both releases charted on FMQB reaching #5 on the Album Chart and #8 on the Singles Chart.

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In support of the 2nd release, Velvet Starlings toured across the pond twice with its first full UK tour in May 2019, followed by a US tour sponsored by Acura/Honda, anchored by an emerging artist slot on Summerfest (where Velvet Starlings won best emerging artist and $3,000 worth of gear) and PBS’s Woodsongs in Lexington Kentucky, along with dates in Nashville at The Basement and the Cubby Bear in Chicago.

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Velvet Starlings returned to Europe a second time for a very successful Scandinavian tour, which included many sold out dates and key performances at the Live At Heart Music Festival, along with a headline slot at King Tut’s in Glasgow and several dates in England, which included a live radio performance at the BBC and shows at The Dublin Castle and Camden Assembly, where new songs off of Velvet Starlings' third record were debuted.

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Velvet Starlings was also invited to showcase at Indie Week in Toronto and will be performing select dates in Brooklyn and New Jersey in November 2019. In 2020, Velvet Starlings will perform at The Great Escape festival and conference in Brighton for Impressive PR’s stage at the request of Mel Brown (Cold Play, Muse). Velvet Starlings will soon be releasing two videos for Bitter Pill and Karmic Lemonade,  produced by French director Joseph Calhoun (Lauren Ruth Ward) in support of the mini-album. Christian Gisborne has plans to record his third work in early 2020.  

 

June 2020, Velvet Starlings has been officially endorsed by Ernie Ball.