Lilyphone

LILYPHONE. The very name strikes a chord. Your mind begins to wander…and then wonder: it is seemingly English sounding but resonates with a foreign reverberation all at the same time. That best describes the music group going by this appellation, though.

Lilyphone is guaranteed to be one of the freshest sensations to ever arrive on the music scene. Currently residing in Copenhagen, Denmark, the band consists of lead singer and main songwriter Marie Keis Uhre who also plays the dobro, drummer Thomas Steen Hansen, double bass player Thomas Bang who is Norwegian, and lead guitar Jakob Haugbolle Thomhav. The three guys not only sing back up but also help in the arrangement of songs.

Speaking of tunes, theirs are all original. They are written about life experiences which are deeply personal and yet completely universal. Lilyphone has the international sound that appeals to the global market which makes their performance itinerary boundless.

Their trademarked symbol is part of Marie’s creative genius. It represents an antique gramophone with a triumphant lily emerging out of the horn, symbolizing their survival and victory thus far. “We hope to plant seeds through our songs which will blossom in the listener’s hearts and transform their own escape via music into a reality,” explains Marie.

Having met at the Music Conservatory in Copenhagen in 2001, Lilyphone emerged as a basement band; however, as time passed and the group became top priority for each member, they were discovered by producer Rogers Masson. Masson, who has worked with a myriad of artists ranging from Eric Clapton and Marilyn Manson to Day of Fire, began recording and mixing the songs. The entire record was cut live in one room with Marie’s vocals being tracked in Denmark. Masson states, "When I first heard Lilyphone I knew I was witnessing something truly unique and artistically special. The sound is so rich and vibrant, so completely full of life that it welcomes you in like family, and draws you close like love. This group, and how their songs speak, has fundamentally changed the way I look at music and approach recording."

The band reciprocates by vowing that everything came together upon meeting Masson. “He totally believed in the instrumentation and constellation of our band,” explains Bang. “Rogers came to Denmark at his own expense and is our angel. We wish to show him we are the band that he instantly loved and we want to make him proud.”

Marie, who aside from being the singer and a brilliant musician, has a cup running over with good looks and European style. Last year her older sister entered her in “The Sexiest Woman in Denmark” competition as a joke. Marie won first prize! However, she combines this with a gentle spirit and sincere humbleness that qualifies her as a natural star without the suspected ego…a fresh choice indeed.

Lilyphone began playing in small cafes around town but this was not where they wanted to stop. “All of our money went towards funding a trip to Nashville,” says Jakob. “When we finally arrived in Music City USA, the reactions toward our music were overwhelming! We studied everything from the classics to eurhythmics in school and, having collected all of these sounds, we found we could combine it all in some form in our songs. People really respond to it and that pleases us.”

Rogers Masson brought the band to America and introduced them to some of the biggest managers in the business. He took a chance that Mike Smith, a longtime veteran of the music industry, might have an interest and arranged a recital for him. When it was over, the band unanimously voted that they wanted to work with Smith who was flattered and excited because he adored Lilyphone: both the music and the members. Smith, always on the cutting edge of various musical projects, claims that Lilyphone will win the hearts of fans all over the world. “This band is so original and authentic, and at the same time so powerfully familiar. They represent everything that I love in music and, quite frankly, in humanity. I am so thrilled to be included in the development of such a treasure,” says Smith.

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then Lilyphone is the biggest flirt in the industry! Their sound includes varied forms of country, folk, pop and even classical to name but a few. Therefore their music cannot really be filtered down to just one category but instead seems to pinch a little something from almost every style (they even incorporate a cajon which is an instrument found in slave music from Spanish Colonial America with roots traced back to Africa and rarely used today outside of Cuba and Peru). Their chord changes are unexpected and the harmonizing is a fabulous surprise. “Our sound is our own. It is a hodgepodge and we are therefore mutts because of it!” exclaims Hansen who performs on the cajon.

The sound is indeed unique and that made their Nashville showcase in 2008 an