Bio
“An inspired piece of genre blending that produces a very compelling whole”
- Rip It Up, December 2008
“It’s a little haunting and completely intoxicating, as if they’ve been at it for years”
– Drum Media, June 2008
“Now add to this the spellbinding anthemic swell of the Unsung. This tune sails a rising tide of acoustic guitars and drums to a chorus crescendo of vocal harmonies that crash over the listener with all the force and drama of, well, a shipwreck…”
- Rip It Up 2008
The Shipwrecked are a Sydney based four-piece comprising singer/guitarist Damien Lane, singer/pianist Nicole Smede, drummer Darren Ireland and recent addition Ryan Kalkman on bass. Their eponymous debut album was recorded at Megaphon Studios and mixed at the Sydney Opera House by Jason Blackwell (Clouds/Lovetones).
The music has a cinematic scope with shimmering, interweaving guitars underpinned by piano, bass and emotive drumming. Above these float the haunting harmonies of the vocalists, heard to stunning effect on standout track The Unsung. The songs vary stylistically with melancholy, acoustic-driven songs nestling among more explosive rock-oriented tracks.
Nicole is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has recorded and performed with Melbourne's Plastic Palace Alice. Darren and Damien hail from shoegazer/noise merchants Dropping Honey, as the drummer and guitarist/singer/songwriter respectively. Damien has also spent several years accompanying Sydney singer/songwriter Tim Ireland both live and on record as a multi-instrumentalist. He spent 2004-05 writing, recording and performing in London - an experience which was the catalyst for The Shipwrecked.