Belgravia Hotel by Birds Of Wales
How does a one time varsity soccer star, a student of political science and a descendant of Florence Nightingale get mixed up in the world of rock? And furthermore...where does a band get a name like Birds of Wales? Vancouver singer/ songwriter and frontman of Birds of Wales, Morgan Cameron Ross, tells the story best...
"While living on campus at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George I spent most of my time either playing soccer or writing songs on acoustic guitar in my room," recalls Ross. "Friends of mine in a band called Stabilo, from Vancouver, eventually convinced me to move back and pursue my songwriting skills. They encouraged me to record some tracks and even joined me in the studio for the sessions. As for the band's name....I grew up with a pet cockatoo. My mom was patriotically Welsh and adored birds. The rest is history".
In the spring of 2005 Morgan packed up and moved to Toronto where he attended York University's french campus. By the fall of that year he had auditioned and picked what would become Birds of Wales: Mike Caputo from Windsor on guitar, Dan Taylor from Toronto on bass and British newcomer to Canada Ben Standage on drums. Successful stints at Lee's Palace, the Drake and various other Toronto clubs caught the eye of Ralph James, President of The Agency Group, who soon after signed them to his roster. A return trip to Vancouver saw similar audience interest with a packed house at Richard's on Richards.
In the summer of 2006 the band took their maiden voyage as Birds Of Wales to London, England. That would be the first of several successful tours in the UK. The Agency Group UK signed the band and Invisible Hands Records / Universal released an early EP in 2007. Return visits across the pond saw the band venture into Ireland, Holland and Spain plus play on a tour opening for Xavier Rudd on his European dates.
Consistent attention from British audiences soon paid off. The BBC and regional radio started spinning the band's songs, resulting in one of their singles, "My Lady in July", breaking into the national charts published by Music Week Magazine. Supportive press followed, including photos of the band's charismatic frontman, Morgan Cameron Ross, gracing the pages of England's largest teen magazine "TV HITS".
Their imported British EP started to filter back into Canada and constant touring continued. Birds Of Wales gained significant airplay and performed on XM satellite radio[The Verge]. MuchMoreMusic took notice, voting Morgan Cameron Ross as one of the top three hottest guys on their show "Hotties Next Door". MuchMusic also showed support having him guest star as a professional songwriter on their homegrown production of the show "Disband". You could also hear several Birds of Wales songs if you flipped over to CBC and tuned into their show "Heartland".
In early December of 2009 the band signed with Toronto indie label Sparks Music/ EMI. Their new full length CD "Belgravia Hotel" will be released on April 13, 2010.The first single/video from the project is a song entitled ‘Uninteresting' which was penned by Morgan while staying at the Belgravia Hotel in London!
The album was produced and recorded in Vancouver at Mushroom Sound by Jeff Dawson (Daniel Powter, Kelly Rowlands) and mixed by Jeff Dawson, Mike Fraser (Aerosmith, Franz Ferdinand) and Mike Gilles (Metallica, Bryan Adams).
Tracklist
| 1. | My Lady In July | 4:23 |
| 2. | Philanthropist | 3:31 |
| 3. | Uninteresting | 3:21 |
| 4. | Life | 3:35 |
| 5. | Winter Reminds Me Of You | 3:39 |
| 6. | Just Right | 2:50 |
| 7. | Just Let It Be | 4:03 |
| 8. | Tin Soldier | 4:18 |
| 9. | Fall Of The 49 | 3:17 |
| 10. | Some People Tell Me | 3:01 |
| 11. | White Dress | 4:15 |
Credits
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Sparks Music is built around a diverse roster of artists and music which includes releases from JF Robitaille, Brad Fillatre, Papermaps, Yes Nice and many more artists.