Colin Rink is a folk musician in the deepest, truest sense of the word. His trembling portraits of humanity conjure up the kind of folk music that speaks to a part of everyone’s soul; the part that has seen struggle, and learned from it.

His musical career began when he scraped together enough money to buy himself an acoustic guitar, and this hard-work ethic shows through in every note he’s played since. Rink’s charismatic voice hints at a life of odd jobs, cross-country travels, and long nights piecing together a living with a guitar, a harmonica, and a head full of stories.  

While Vancouver turns its ears to a new voice rising up from its bars and nightclubs, Colin Rink continues to impress new listeners across the country with the release of his debut album, “Bury me Deep In The Ground.”  This album makes it very clear what Colin Rink has been doing for the last decade or so – honing his skill with an impressive breadth of musical understanding and life experience. Then again, if you’re one of the growing number of fans who have seen him perform in countless venues across his hometown of Vancouver, you probably already know this.

Rink’s humble beginnings have led to a compelling honesty in his music that resounds with critics and listeners alike.  A writer from Reviewyou.com gushed that his “heartfelt stories” possess “a resonance with the potential to inspire a new generation,” much like the iconic Bob Dylan did in his day. “It seems Colin Rink is divining the future out for those wise enough to listen,” he continues, referring to songs like “It’s a Comin,” in which Rink prophesizes that “Terror is comin’/ It will be swift/ Upon the hills of green/ These perpetrators will not be seen.” These dark tales, set to an unpretentious backing of acoustic guitar and harmonica, echo the fears of a generation raised among constant predictions of global crisis.

In 2008, he recorded his first live album at the Yale Jazz Club in downtown Vancouver, marking a significant milestone for Rink as an accomplished singer/songwriter. His diversity as an artist became apparent when, later that year, one of his paintings was featured in the Port Moody City Hall as part of a professional exhibit featuring Canadian artists. This diversity has been important in securing Colin Rink’s status as a multitalented creator of independent works. Whether he’s busking, painting, podcasting, gracing the pages of Canadian Musician magazine, or playing gigs, his work manages to maintain an unpolished honesty that brings this creative drive to an accessible and inspiring level.

"This Vancouver singer-songwriter makes a lot of noise - that is, of the enticing psychadelic folk kind,” wrote Stuart Derdeyn in a recent article in The Vancouver Province. If you’re itching to hear the talented young man in person, he’ll be packing up this noise and embarking on a cross-Canada tour beginning in December of 2009.