Christine Crawford

There's nothing predictable about Christine Crawford's sound. A folk/rock fusion with jazz and Celtic influences, her music bursts forth in a stream of vivid imagery, rhythm, and melody. To listen to Crawford is to hear an artist with a unique vision of life and music. Her latest cd, Peace Talks, showcases the Halifax-based singer/songwriter's coming of age, both as a gifted musician and a captivating storyteller.

A granddaughter of a noted Gaelic chanteuse, her earliest influence was traditional Celtic music -- the mother tongue of so many artists from her hometown of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She learned to play piano and guitar as a child, performing with her family, and later performed all over Nova Scotia, sharing the stage with the Barra MacNeils, Dave Gunning, and Mary Jane Lammond. She was influenced early in her career by the Indigo Grils, and more recently by the piano driven alternative rock of Coldplay and Radiohead.

Peacetalks is Crawford's third cd, a collection of eleven original tunes that controversial places. However intense the lyrics, Crawford swoons her listeners with gorgeous melodies, catchy phrasing and infectious grooves. Her quirky, irreverent stage presence makes her a favorite for songwriter's circles with Lennie Gallant, George Canyon, Hot Toddy, Laura Smith, and Jenny Whitely, Norma MacDonald and Irish Mythen.

Crawford's debut album, Rowing in Eden, (nominated for Music Nova Scotia's Female Recording of the Year) was recorded after she started to work with producer Tim Feswick in 2002. The title track on that cd can be heard in the Fox film, Suzanne's Diary. Featured as Artist of the Week on CBC's Atlantic Airwaves, Rowing in Eden went on to enjoy international radio play as far afield as Northern Ireland, Australia, Hawaii, Alaska, and New York.

Another film project Crawford worked on was a song custom cut for the Trailer Park Boy's Christmas movie. Working again with Tim Feswick, she pitched the cheeky tune, Plutonium Love, to director Mike Clattenburg and the cast.

The 'boys' loved it! They picked it up for the film and later lip synced the tune on stage at the film's screening. Crawford and Feswick went to write nine more experimental tunes under the working name, Bigcheese.ca, and released the work as a full-length album, Plutonium Love.

Crawford is back in Antigonish where she's soaking in jazz influences, writing and performing throughout the province. Half of the proceeds from her CD sales is donated to the Coady International Institute's X-Tending Hope Program for HIV/Aids education and prevention in Africa.