Chris Rael
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Chris Rael

New York City, New York, United States

New York City, New York, United States
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"Selected Press Quotes"

“A purveyor of urban psychedelia, with a voice sweeter than Prince.” – Magnet Magazine

“Chris Rael is a musician of astonishing breadth and expression.” – GirlsOn.com

“Chris Rael has consistently blended rock and Indian music better than any western guitar guy, ever.” – Village Voice

“Rael has absorbed what George Harrison’s Indian raga noodlings only hinted at.” – Creem Magazine

“Rael squeezes the expansive soul of raga into the tight curves of rock, to create a complex and surprisingly harmonious hybrid.” – ThinkIndia.com

“Sliding, scalloped phrases shape Hindustani music to the concision of pop hooks... irresistible.” – New York Times

"'Araby' manages to hit high note after high note... the kind of musical bliss that is currently missing on Broadway." - Back Stage

"Church of Betty mixes Indian and Western music into a spicy, always surprising blend that sounds like neither style alone but expands the boundaries of both.” – OffOffOff.com

“Musical and cultural fusion of the first order.” – Boston Herald

“Entrancing, a brilliant, tuneful set.” – Billboard

“A juicy primer to a world of music that is still underappreciated for its sheer creative audacity… comports itself with an air of cultural surrealism.” – Jazz Times

“Najma’s passionate singing and Church of Betty’s modernist psychedelia allow one to imagine Judy Garland backed by the Strawberry Alarm Clock.” – New York Newsday

"Rael writes deep, sexy poetic lyrics. Chris sings with passion and the band is smoking.” – Kweevak.com

“Every note and nuance clear; lyrics witty, soulful, riddling; musicianship from on high, and YES, IT ROCKS!” – The Splatter Effect

"‘Tripping with Wanda’ conjures and cleanses, swoons and seduces. If otherworldly rock exists, surely this is as lofty as it gets. A rich, brimming, brilliant record… ‘Tunnel Ragas’ is at once pure, devotional, improvisational and profanely urban, a fascinating listen… ‘Comedy of Animals’ is a thrilling work, overflowing with vision.” – All Music Guide

“This record is not joking, and it issues a very serious challenge to all other purveyors of psychedelia.” – Sound Views

“ ‘Kashi’ is a culturally rich explosion, a vast garden of brilliant colors and exotic species.” – Good Times - This is just a sampling! Rael & Church of Betty have been extensively reviewed


"Chris Rael's ARABY"

Despite occasionally coming across as a very elaborate form of therapy, Chris Rael's new James Joyce – inspired chamber musical, Araby, has the goods to back up even its most self-indulgent passages.

Inspired by his complicated father's passion for Joyce, Rael has constructed an evening's worth of songs based on the short stories in Joyce's Dubliners while simultaneously commenting on Rael's relationship with his father. Finding parallels between his life and the stories can be a stretch at times—Rael frequently resorts to "Unlike us, the characters in this story…") -- but when the music and the biography fit together, the musical soars.

Blessed with impeccable singers Nancy Magarill, Carlos Ponton, and Dudley Saunders and a truly impressive band, Araby manages to overcome its navel-gazing story line to achieve the kind of musical bliss that is currently missing on Broadway. Filling the new Dixon Place space with pounding strings, Rael's songs come alive thanks to his singers. Never overplaying the emotions of Joyce's melancholy characters while still managing to clearly enunciate every word of Rael's complex lyrics, all three get multiple moments to shine.

Magarill is particularly fine on "Eveline," bringing out every nuance of Joyce's lonely character with nothing more than her throbbing voice; Ponton nails the comedy in "A Mother" and rocks out on "After the Race," and Saunders fills out so many different characters so expertly I'm amazed I've never seen his work before.

Despite a few notable missteps -- most notably Rael complicating his role as narrator by joining in on some of the songs -- Araby manages to hit high note after high note, particularly on standout song "Grace." As the singers' harmonies rise above the swooning orchestration, the song -- and the show -- lives up to the name.
- Back Stage Magazine, NYC


Discography

25 albums, including 'Tripping With Wanda' (2002), 'Fruit on the Vine' (1999), 'Comedy of Animals' (1998), 'Revenge of the Hippies' (2002), 'Kashi' (1993), 'West of the East' (1989), 'In Search of Spiritual Junkfood' (1994) & 'Araby' (2009)

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Bio

Chris Rael's acrobatic vocal style was influenced by years of classical music study in Varanasi, India. The sitarist/guitarist is leader of NYC Indo-pop band Church of Betty, founder of indie label Fang Records, and producer of dozens of CDs and hundreds of live events in downtown New York. Composer of 300 songs and 25 CDs, he is currently developing the chamber musical 'Araby' (inspired by James Joyce's 'Dubliners'), composing feature songs and soundtracks for film (Outstanding Score Award at Outfest Film Festival, Los Angeles 2005), and collaborating with tabla master/world music producer Deep Singh. Church of Betty was part of the first wave of progressive acts through the original Knitting Factory, and later became a regular favorite at Greenwich Village's legendary Bottom Line. Rael has performed at Town Hall, Lincoln Center & Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, Sydney Opera House, the Secession Building in Vienna, the National Mall in Washington DC, the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Berlin, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Mexico City, Varanasi, Eastern Canada and across America, with numerous appearances on National Public Radio. He has collaborated with many dozens of artists, including Penny Arcade, Oasis, Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow), David Byrne, Najma, Johnny Society, Elliott Sharp, Curt Smith (Tears for Fears), Jayne County, Samir Chatterjee, Amar Nath Mishra, Steve Gorn, John Kelly, Rebecca Moore, Stew (Broadway's 'Passing Strange'), Richard Fearless (Death In Vegas), Frank London (Klezmatics), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), Tom Scott (the Muffins), White Magic, West Indian Girl, Ida, Gordy Goudie (Echo and the Bunnymen), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Charles Henri Ford, Marty Matz, Ira Cohen, and Life in a Blender. He co-produced the underground classic 'Acorn' by the Mommyheads, and played in one of the great Brooklyn underground rock bands, The Hand. "Chris Rael has consistently blended rock and Indian music better than any western guitar guy, ever." - Village Voice. "Sliding, scalloped phrases shape Hindustani music to the concision of pop hooks... irresistible." - New York Times. "Conjures and cleanses, swoons and seduces. If otherwordly rock exists, surely this is as lofty as it gets." - All Music Guide.