Biography:

From evocative ballads to rousing roots rockers: With Heard or Herded, singer-songwriter Hans York navigates a deep spectrum of bluesy grooves, sparkling atmospherics, punchy horns and wailing background vocals to illustrate his slate of 13 compelling songs. “Why don’t we do a little shaking baby?” invites Hans in “Dance Away.” It’s an enticing proposition that mirrors the music’s upbeat energy, celebratory rhythms and propulsive authenticity.

These songs are populated by a vivid cast of finely drawn characters, from the “middle-aged mom, living with Houston with her youngest son,” in “Momma Won’t Go For That,” to “Mrs. Sunshine,” a woman who is a beam of light in the darkness of her surroundings. And Hans name checks a legendary blues diva with the lines, “Oh Lord what’s with that Mercedes Benz, that you promised Janis just to get into her pants?” on “Whose Gonna Trust You Now.”

An accomplished producer himself, for Heard or Herded Hans made the decision to be the artist. Producer Evan Brubaker, who was behind the board, assembled a band of Seattle rockers whose hard-hitting musicianship is an ideal compliment to the endeavor. “It was instant love,” marvels Hans. “We recorded this whole project in two days.” And while he acknowledges his acoustic roots, he balances this exquisite melodic simplicity with tough guitar-driven roadhouse reveries and seductive pop, as the music casts a wide-screen panorama that is multi-dimensional and inclusive.

Over the past three years Hans has navigated non-stop across the U.S. on a continuous tour of clubs and concerts. Captivating audiences with his confiding voice and easy charm, he has made lifelong friends while witnessing the vast territories of the country that has become his adopted home.

This love affair with America is long-standing. German-born Hans says that the tepid local pop music of his youth was no match for the sensational rock of the UK and the states. Although he didn’t yet speak the language, he would improvise lyrics, knowing that his audiences didn’t understand them. Growing up near Ramstein Air Force base, headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe, Hans left home at 18 and began playing and living with American musicians. “After a short period I was dreaming in English,” he says.

While he subsequently performed everything from theater to classical music as a bass player, it was as the co-founder of the German World Music cult band Moka Efti that Hans made his mark as an artist with three CD’s. But he knew there was a wider world panorama, and he explored it while living for six for months in Brazil.

Hans returned home to Germany and recorded his solo debut, Hazzazar and a well-received follow-up, but his creativity demanded movement and motion. And so with only a smattering of contacts, he moved to the United States.

His first American release, Inside Out, established him as a masterful storyteller, multi-instrumentalist and a producer with a deep musical palette. As one writer said, it introduced an artist who was “… delicate, expressive and highly evocative.” His next release, Young Amelia, was a natural progression as Hans was lauded for his “sweet, comfy tenor and expressive acoustic guitar work that place him in the upper echelon of music makers.”

With Heard or Herded, Hans settled down in Dallas, Texas. Energized by the camaraderie of a band, he anticipates enlisting a strong group of players to animate his songs.

The sound of Hans York is the sound of a man at peace with himself, and remarkably interested in those around him.

“There’s movement in the heavens where the winds have taken shape
Swirling dust and devils, dragons that awake
And they rage through crowded streets, leave nothing behind
Only the weak, the opened hearted kind”
-“Walk This Way”

“The heart space is what’s important,” he concludes. “ The more that an artist can find that in himself, the better then that the art transcends and people will find strength in listening.”