“I could listen to Steph Fraser all night, she is going to be big time!”
Sam Leach - Beatles Promoter and Mentor

ARTIST: Steph Fraser
SINGLE: 1. Purple Sun  2. Since I Saw You  3. Weight of Water  4. Purple Sun (Radio Edit)
RELEASE: 19th May, 2008 (Physical) / 19th May, 2008 (Digital)
LABEL: Sonic Vista Recordings
FORMAT: CD 5”, Digital Download

If nothing else, the year 2008 in pop so far (it's only May, after all) has been characterised by the rise of female performers like Duffy, Estelle and Adele, chart-toppers all, closely followed by others such as Gabriella Cilmi (and there'll be more). The bee-hived presence of Amy Winehouse still doggedly refuses to move from the red-top newspapers, and even Girls Aloud are starting to look like elder stateswomen of the genre. Then there's Kylie still doing her thing, along with Mariah Carey and dear old Madge. Look, I could go on, but you must be getting the picture by now. All well and good, you say, but the aforementioned all come with massive record company budgets, some even attended the Brit School (for scoundrels), and have had their careers mapped out well in advance. There are some artists who prefer to follow their own path, working on their craft and honing a style. Pundits make great capital of the maturity of the talents of Adele, despite her relative youth - nineteen years of old. What then, would they make of the fifteen year old Steph Fraser, who makes her recording debut with the three-track EP, Purple Sun, then? A cursory listen to the title track reveals a vocalist who manages to combine intelligent lyricism with an appealing vulnerability, melodically gifted and an artist who doesn't sound like her female contemporaries. Though no-one would say she's the finished article, Steph nonetheless shows immense poise and promise.

So, what about Steph Fraser, then? Well, since taking her first guitar lesson at the age of five, she also discovered a talent for crafting songs. It wasn't long before other residents of the Fylde coast (Blackpool and its environs) started to acknowledge that, frankly, they'd got a bit of a live 'un here, and she was chosen to perform at the Blackpool Illuminations bash in August 2007 (broadcast by BBC Radio 2), alongside the likes of Natalie Imbruglia, McFly, and Natasha Bedingfield, and was not overawed to appear in such rarefied company. She's also played many local talent shows, as well as the prestigious Black Vegas event for emergent talent at the Blackpool Grand Theatre. She then signed a deal with indie label Sonic Vista Recordings, and 'Purple Sun' is the first ripe fruit of this liaison. After signing with the label Steph hooked up with co-writer and multi-instrumentalist Stephen (Ladders) Ladley and was invited to showcase at Canadian Music Week, where she triumphed in front of music industry heavyweights and her more experienced comtemporaries. Parts of her new EP were also crafted and recorded in Canada where she will again tour in July/August this year. On Steph’s return to the UK in March things moved on apace with further showcase bookings at Liverpool Sound City in May and also a raft of appearances on BBC local radio (Lancashire and Merseyside) including a full studio session with audience which was filmed for subsequent release. It may not have taken Steph Fraser long to emerge, but she's not going to go away in a hurry.

Steph Fraser is available for interview and radio promotional interviews in support of the release of Purple Sun. Please contact us at the numbers and e-mail addresses below, and get in on the ground floor a rare and immensely promising young singer-songwriting talent.

www.stephfraser.co.uk | www.myspace.com/stefaniefraser | www.stephfraser.ca | www.sonicvistarecordings.com