JINDER - a biography
JINDER was born in 1981, on the very Sunday in April that Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love' hit #1 in the UK.
Growing up in rural Warwickshire, Jinder's first exposure to live music was hearing the folk music from the nearby Cropredy Festival floating on the summer breeze through his bedroom window as a child, an experience immortalised in his song 'Train In Your Voice' from the 2006 album 'I'm Alive'.
Pursuing a career in songwriting from the age of 14 led, four years later, to the formation of Jinder's first serious group, Candlefire, in 1999. Within months of their live debut, they had a mangement contract and were gunning for a record deal and creating a major buzz in the music industry. Signing to independent label One Little Indian in 2001 led to a UK chart hit single, 'Sorrow Spreads Its Wings' in 2002, and further recording, including sessions with Black Crowes producer Darius Szczepaniak, in 2003.
Tiring of playing rock music and suffering from tinnitus and hearing damage, Jinder left Candlefire in late 2003, and formed a duo, Olas & Jinder, with friend and acclaimed singer/songwriter Nick Cull. The pair toured the UK relentlessly in 2003 and 2004, playing over 200 live dates in the space of 9 months. Midway through their tour, the duo signed to frontSide Records and ducked into the studio to create their album 'The Best Of Days Ahead', to date the duo's only release. Scheduled for release in April 2004, the album's sales were hobbled terminally by the collapse of distributor Pinnacle/3MV in the week preceeding the release date, and despite critical plaudits the record sank without trace. Parting company in June 2004, Jinder and Nick Cull remain good friends, and Nick has gone on to acclaim and success with Astro0, his collaboration with chillout producer Jon Dennis.
Now on his own, Jinder decided to stay that way and began work on what would become his debut solo album, 2005's 'Willow Park'. A chance meeting with Nick Butcher, the boss of boutique indie label Folkwit Records, at London's Troubadour Club, led to a deal with the label and a release for 'Willow Park' in July 2005. The self-produced album was showered with critical acclaim from the music press and was granted extensive airplay by local, regional and national radio, and remains a firm fan favourite to this day.
An intense year's touring followed, with Jinder playing over 250 live dates and seldom coming off his beloved road throughout 2005.
February 2006 saw Jinder return to the studio, this time with former Candlefire producer Stephen Darrell Smith at the helm, to record 'I'm Alive', the followup to 'Willow Park'. A more country-tinged collection, 'I'm Alive' was inspired by the likes of Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, and featured Jinder's strongest songwriting to date.
Following the success of 'I'm Alive', Jinder formed acoustic trio The Mercurymen with fellow singer/songwriters Gavin Wyatt and Simon Johnson. The band signed to Sony/BMG in February 2008, and recorded debut album 'Postcards From Valonia' in late Spring 2008. Touring throughout the year, the band played to over 50,000 people at venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, Liverpool Echo Arena, Birmingham Symphony Hall and many more.
Sadly, The Mercurymen parted company with Sony/BMG in late 2008, prompting Jinder to return to solo work and form his own record label, Din Of Ecstasy.
2009 saw Jinder release his critically acclaimed eighth album 'Nine Cents From Benelux', his first commercial release through Din Of Ecstasy, and return to live performance with familiar vigour, touring the UK extensively both with friends and fellow solo artists Lotte Mullan and Marcus Bonfanti.
Jinder is a prolific songwriter, both as a recording artist and a songwriter for other artists, and has written for/with and recorded with the likes of Ricky Ross (Deacon Blue), Hank Marvin (Shadows), Henry Priestman (The Christians, Yachts, Its Immaterial), Jason Donovan, Elysium III, Graham Gouldman (10CC) and many more.
