Wright is a British novelist, songwriter, singer, guitarist, and record producer who has collaborated with Kim Fowley, Najam Sheraz, Mark Linkous, Mark Tinley, Enrico Coniglio, Yvalian, Josh Woodward, & many indie artists. As long ago as January 1979, the NME hailed Wright as an exceptional DIY artist worth popularizing.
With his songs influenced by everything from ambient, country, world & experimental music, classic rock, 70's British Pop to 60's Folk, Wright has achieved critical success & fan-base loyalty with his independent releases. "Impossible" has been downloaded for free over 35,000 times. On the web, Wright has found a growing audience on MySpace, Jamendo, Last FM, garageband, ilike, Facebook and elsewhere. He has in excess of 500,000 downloads & plays on his music pages (last update 15 March 2010). His first 45rpm vinyl release, Strange Situation, hit BBC Radio 1 airwaves in 1978 on the legendary John Peel Show. Back in 1976, he worked with Steve Lillywhite, producer of Ultravox, Simple Minds, Morrissey, Talking Heads, and U2. Inspired by Lillywhite, two years later Wright released a power pop single, 'Strange Situation,' (recorded at Spaceward Studios) on the Ellie Jay Record label, London. Wright's songs "Strange Situation" and "Silent Dreams" appeared many times on BBC Radio 1 on the John Peel Show and the David Jensen Show in the later 70s and early 80s. In a review in January 1979, the NME's Max Bell called Wright "an enigmatic purveyor of power pop." He co-formed with Dave Maile the 1982 Power Pop/Heavy Metal band International Heroes - who were credited in The Encyclopedia of New Wave of British Heavy Metal as a forerunner of the so-called power pop movement, where he was known as Rikki Wright. He toured the UK as the lead vocalist of International Heroes during 1982 and 1983. The band were supported by Marillion. In 1986, his original songs were published by Peer Music, London, publishers for Buddy Holly, Rihanna, Donovan and many more. He co-wrote with Dave Maile, and Hollywood producer, Kim Fowley, who worked with Kiss, Guns N' Roses, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, Mott The Hoople, and recorded the Number 1 sixties hit, Nut Rocker by B. Bumble and the Stingers. Along with Maile, Sean Wright co-managed the hugely popular all-girl Swedish band, Ice Age, in 1988-90, co-producing their MTV video, 'Instant Justice,' and he co-ordinated their successful European tour, which saw them sell-out the London Hippodrome, the London Astoria, and the famous Marquee Club. The band also featured many times in Europe's music press pages, radio, and TV - voted best all-girl group in the world in 1989 by Kerrang! magazine. "Instant Justice" was played on Richard Branson's short-lived Music Box TV. Maile went on to manage Reptile Smile (Sony) Barbie Bones (EMI) and Swedish Erotica (Virgin) as well as representing a number of top rock stars including Mick Ronson, Thin Lizzy's Eric Bell (Maile produced Eric's debut solo album), Huw Lloyd-Langton (Hawkwind), Noel Redding and many others. Throughout the 90s Wright continued to pen new songs, mainly on his own, but sometimes writing with his only collaborator of the 90s, Kamal Laroiya. He also continued exploring new recording techniques, recording thousands of hours out in the field with his Tascam porta studio. He experimented with "anything" that made a sound, overloading microphones, blowing up amps and speakers, including percussive experiments with the kitchen sink and every utensil in it. See "The Lo-Fi Years" studio albums. Wright's first article was published in East Anglia Monthly in 1986 - a 1500 word two-page spread on Wright's childhood hero - anti-slavery campaigner, Thomas Clarkson. Wright wrote for many trade journals and magazines, publishing his first children's novel - Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow - in 2003. Wright became a well-known and successful children's author, named alongside JK Rowling, Philip Pullman, and GP Taylor as an author worth collecting (Book and Magazine Collector - July 2004 and The Guardian daily newspaper - December 2004). In April 2005, in recognition remarkable sales figures in London's Royal bookshop, Hatchards, Piccadilly, Wright was named one of Hatchard's Authors of the Year. Sean Wright has been a British Fantasy Award finalist 3 times for his excellence in writing within the horror and fantasy genres. Never one to stand still creatively, in April 2007, Wright embarked on the album-a-month project, writing, recording, producing, and releasing physical CDs and album downloads via CD Baby, Last FM and Jamendo. No other artist in the history of music has been so prolific in such a condensed space of time - 37 new studio albums in 37 months (updated April 2010). "Quantity AND quality," Wright insists are the foundations of his art. "Like the old guys, from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, I am addicted to writing and recording fast. It brings out the best in me." Sean Wright played at Trafalgar Square, London, on the 28th July 2007 with Asian pop icon Najam Sheraz. The 18,000+ crowd was the largest at the venue since Nelson Mandela's speech on the Abolition of Child Poverty in February 2005. The Pakistan Festival - which celebrated 60 years of independence - was beamed via satellite to millions worldwide by Geo TV. In December 2007, Wright and Sheraz wrote 14 new songs together for a future "spiritual" album project. The album-a-month project attracted public support from major music industry names, such as Alexander Nevermind, Dan Nash of Just Good Management, Najam Sheraz, Alana Grace, Mark Linkous, Robin Olson, Mark Coyne, Roman Klun, Betsy Hammer, Dave Stewart, Swapmeet Louie, Dana Gaynor, and the legendary harmonica player Jimmy 'Z' Zavala. In 2008, Mark Tinley (Duran Duran, Adamski, Dandy Warhols) programmed, engineered, and produced Wright's landmark 12th album in the Album-A-Month Project."Tinley is a creative genius," Wright has gone on record as saying. Two years later, in March 2010, Wright released, COME A LITTLE CLOSER, his landmark 36th album in 36 months. During the Autumn 2009, Wright embarked on his most ambitious musical composition to date, a four movement experimental rock opera: SYMPHONY OF LIGHT. Whilst throughout 2009 and 2010, he forged many songwriting alliances, collaborating with musicians from around the world. Album-a-Month Project Praise Sean Wright's album-a-month project began in April 2007 and quickly garnered a huge fan-base and public support from major musicbiz producers, sound engineers, and musicians. Top online music news source, No Rock And Roll Fun ran an article, claiming that Wright was "possibly the hardest-working man in showbiz." What made Wright's project even more appealing was his artistic decision to offer his whole catalogue of songs as free MP3 downloads. Producer, Alexander Nevermind's support of Wright's album-a-month project has been unflinching and vocal, praising Wright's music publicly on myspace. Nevermind works behind the scenes as one member of a collective of musicians, composers, and producers known as moodswings.com in the US, a collective whose influence on the world of popular music is far-reaching and immense. Nevermind is also known as dance music producer and songwriter, LaTour, as well as other pen names. Nevermind said he "loved Wright's music and work ethic." "Sean Wright has to be the musical find of the century! Electric songs," Dave Stewart, Eurythmics New York-based, Roman Klun said Sean Wright’s project, “all sounds and feels good.” Klun is the award-winning record producer, music engineer and singer/songwriter who worked on Sarah McLachlan's Grammy nominated and Juno Award winning record "Afterglow." "Love your stuff Baby. Blaze-on!" Dana Gaynor, top US guitar player (John Lee Hooker, Bobby Rondinelli, and many more) Jimmy Zavala, legendary harmonica player for The Eurythmics, Etta James, Tom Petty, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, Yes, Barry White, Dr. Dre, and many more has said that Wright's music "sounds great." "I'm completely blown away by your Album-A-Month project! That's amazing!!! I'm listening to some songs on the music player now... REALLY impressive! I look foward to spending more time listening and following your progress," Swapmeet Louie, guitarist and keyboard player for Bo Bice. "By releasing new material every month, Sean Wright could be setting himself up for a fall. Yet with tracks as catchy as those currently on his MySpace music page, who can complain? 'Open Your Mind' is a strong song, with a driving guitar edge that propels him along full throttle, and his vocal delivery is suitably brash. With 'Walking Pretty' showing no signs of slowing down, it's a great start. 'Love's Alive' and 'Impossible' again show talent, especially with the latter, which appears to be his most popular track due to its impressive high number of plays. Sean Wright has an innovative and original idea, and a style to match." East Midlands Talent Radio "Wright is an enigma worth popularizing," Max Bell, NME, Jan 1979 "Musician and author Sean Wright is a killer musician who has this album a month project going on. (yes, really!! ) He’s incredibly talented and I have reviewed a couple of them but I can barely keep up with this man — and he’s writing books too. He’s genius!" Stevie Wilson, editor at LA Story "Wright is a new wave prototype. His single Strange Situation is a high energy treat." - John Peel, BBC Radio 1 (1979) "You have a wonderful voice!" Betsy Hammer, vocal coach, actress, who has worked with Adam Sandler, Christopher Walken, "Wow! Guess you can write!!! I am not that fast- my lyrics take me weeks but love your classic rock feel," Alana Grace, singer-songwriter with Colombia Records "There are people who make music, and then there are those who ARE music. Sean Wright is music, so beautiful," Reine Amodeo, New York poet, singer, songwriter "Great songs! Digging your work man. An Album a month.. for crying out loud... when do you sleep Mr Dylan?" Liam Gerner, singer-songwriter, discovered by Peter Gabriel, touring with Newton Faulkner, Amy Macdonald, Ryan Bingham and others" - Liam Gerner, singer-songwriter, discovered by Peter Gabriel "Sean, I love you music." Robin Olson (Eric Clapton, Madonna, Elton John) "Oh wow. That's crazy cool. I love your take on it - faithful to the original concept but with a different spin (commenting on Sean's version of Josh's "I'm Letting Go"). I've always enjoyed your original material, so I'm honored! "I love the ballad (of Leon Payne). I tell you what! Daddy would have loved your originality. " Myrtie, Leon Payne's daughter. Leon Payne's songs have been covered by Elvis, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, U2, and many more. "Sean's songs are well-crafted, burning with desire and danger," Mark Linkous, aka Sparklehorse. Dan Nash of Just Great Management has said: "KUDOS! I love what you're doing and I love how you're doing it. We will be keeping tabs on you and your progress, but I'm thinking that when the 12-months are done, you're going to be sitting on 144 of the best songs in a long long time..." Dan Nash worked for many years at Atlantic Records and A&M Records with Suzanne Vega, Paul Simon, Foreigner, and many others as a sound engineer. He formed Just Great Management with producer - Niko Bolas, whose mixing, engineering, and production credits speak for themselves - Neil Young, James Taylor, Keith Richard, Rachel Yamagata, Warren Zevon, Tracy Chapman, Billy Joel, Kate Voegele, Steve Parry, Melissa Etheridge, Sting, and many more. "By the end of 2009 he has 22 full albums available for free downloading. Whatever this obsession is, I hope he doesn’t stop because he has the chops and the pen to get away with it. His songs are well crafted works with passionate and articular lyrics delivered with a voice that delivers the goods. Influences like Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon are obvious but I think the 80s new wave signatures of Elvis Costello and Graham Parker are lurking in these songs too." Free Downloads Galore "Sean Wright is a killer musician. He's incredibly talented and I have reviewed a couple of them but I can barely keep up with this man -- He's genius! " - Stevie Wilson, LA Story "I want your voice so much Mr.Wright, believe me. Kinda Marc Bolan meets Mark Linkous meets John Lennon. I want it bad!" - Mark Coyne, The Flaming Lips "I like your style," Hush The Many, indie band featured in BBC Maida Vale studio session "Make A Stand is great," Sue Marchant, BBC Eastern Counties Radio |
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In March 2010, I achieved a personal goal: 36 albums of new songs released in 36 months. That equates to 432 songs. I want to say a BIG thank you to all the kind folk who have supported my musical marathon by downloading and listening to my songs, over 500, 000 FREE downloads/listens in 3 years on my official site, Jamendo, Last Fm, Myspace, and others! |
