Tessa Amy

This gutsy former folk/pop performer, best known for her catchy acoustic tunes and gutsy tough girl lyrics,has now landed with feet firmly planted in the synthpop electro-beat world,with her new self-produced sound.

This multi-instrumentalists life as a songwriter began quite by mistake. After working in television, dance and in musical theater for years Tessa decided to take her itchy feet adventure aboard. It was then, in South London she found herself confined to the small room she was renting, nursing an injured knee and luckily, a handsome guitar. Thus out of solitude her songwriting began.

Encouraged by friends to perform at a local open mic night, Tessa was spotted by a music producer for the BBC who was so taken by her vocal strength and fresh lyrical skill that he offered to record some of her material. ,From henceforth her life as a singer/songwriter began. Tessa, still with itchy feet intact proceeded to perform in Cuba, Mexico, Amsterdam, Canada and Scotland.

In 1998 Tessa returned to her native Australia and continued to wow audience. After paring up with then WAAPA student Eddie Perfect, Tessa’s music soared to a new altitude. Opening for the likes of The John Butler Trio, Xavier Rudd, Colin Hay and Jeff Lang, interest in Tessa’s music, versatile voice and gutsy performance style grew accordingly.Then a year later with a healthy following and her album on heaving radio rotation,Tessa packed up shop and followed her heart to the Great White North - Canada.

It was from here that Amy’s songwriting began to evolve. Tessa admits her transformation in sound is quite a change from the once folk pop singer, however she explains it was a more of a natural progression than a conscious decision. “I was continuously trying to find dependable band members to perform and collaborate with, but this just never seemed to pan out. Hence, I decided to take matters into my own hands and began teaching myself how to compose using my keyboard and computer. Now I write,produce and record all the electronic and acoustic instrumentation myself.”

Likened to bands such as,Imogen Heap, Hot Chip, Esthero, Zero 7 (and believe it or not... Madonna),Tessa’s strong vocal skills, synth lead riffs and varied electro beats scored her a gig at Live Nation’s Pemberton Festival. With the release of her ,EP– Electro/Pop, Tessa has received steady play on the Canadian Airways - touted as a “What’s New and Hot” performer as well as being a Featured Artist on CBC Radio 3.

With this new sound have come new challenges. The first time Tessa performed her material live was at the Pemberton Festival in 2008. “I didn’t quite know how to do it live without coming over as a karaoke performance. ,Each song can have from 12 – 30 tracks and would have taken me anywhere from 1 week to 8 months to complete writing. Obviously, I can’t play all these parts at once, so I really had to pick and choose what to play live and when. ”And she did it! , With a boost of energy and personality from her friend and fellow composer Erik Ubels (www.eriku.com) the two of them captivated the newly converted crowd.

The Vancouver/Whistler 2010Olympics saw more performance opportunities for Tessa as her Indi Pop sound attracted a world audience.

Tessa Amy also composes music for specific projects. She is currently collaborating with a House DJ from Barcelona and also writing a soundtrack for a soon to be released documentary. , So listen out and keep your eyes open for this ever-evolving artist!