Global trekker and Byron Bay-based singer-songwriter, producer and eco warrior Billy Otto offers up his latest labour of love. Let Me Loose is a regenerative war cry that appeals to the inner-child and offers up unrivalled access to a divine sense of freedom.

 Billy Otto’s sound lands somewhere between Radiohead and The Beatles. With confessional choruses, apprehending lyrics and sun-drunk vocals, Billy’s desire to stir audiences is self-evident. Finding global success over the last 4 years, Billy has toured over 30 countries, building a loyal following in Brazil, Sweden, USA, Japan and selling out shows in Australia with his raw and energetic presence.

Following the release of an eminent cover of The Cranberries’ Dreams with Kyle Lionhart and Our Song with a non-for profit collaboration for The Tambah Project, Billy Otto returns felicitously with a solo single. Crystalised by a chorus that you feel you’ve heard a thousand times before, Let Me Loose envelops you in pure nostalgia. This comforting familiarity of the 60s and 70s is felt through Otto’s warm-bodied falsetto harmonies and via a haven of George Harrison inspired hooks. 

This infectious bout of blithe was conjured amidst a moment of bitterness at the end of a relationship. Yet Otto sought to confront the indignation:

“And I just felt this dark sense of yearning for validation. I really felt resentful. But there was a calming spirit that came over me as I tuned my acoustic guitar low and just started strumming hard like I was from a 1968 Americana country rock band. The words ‘let me loose’ flowed out of my mouth and the entire song came together in the next 24 hours.”

Much like the letting go of a loved one, Let Me Loose meditates on the decoupling from the fundamentilist religion Billy Otto has felt “baked in.” Born into the Seventh Day Adventist church, Otto became a pastor and an international speaker. Otto explains, “I was so committed to my creed that in my honest zeal I lost many friends, left rock music for 10 years, judged a lot of people and found myself in a continuous loop of guilt believing that I wasn’t doing enough for the Kingdom of Heaven.”


On this latest release, Otto prays to the divinity within oneself and turns away from the shame that the toxic template of faith is so often steeped in. Hey says, “This is by no means a resignation of a former faith, but an assertion of the deepening of an existing faith. I had to lose God in order to find God.”

Weapsonised by his archetypal confessional language, Otto’s brutal imagery is dissolved in sunny chords and flamboyant keys. Let Me Loose is the breaking free from the subconscious wrestle; from a past self, a broken relationship and a belief system that no longer serves you. Painting the numbers of his message with colourful, inclusive brushstrokes, this song is ultimately a joyous conduit for togetherness and unity through music. 

In a time of global crisis let the intimate polymath that is Billy Otto offer you an alternative elixir to life. The answers for nourishment and hope are already within. Observe them, honour them and let them let you go. 

“On my ankle I’ve tied an anchor / Give me an  answer and I’ll cut myself free.”

From the flow state genesis, Jarrah-Ferris Smith (@jarrahmusic) tied up the initial writing session and from there producer Caleb Tasker (g Flip, Tuka, Lil Spacely) was the Lennon to Otto’s McCartney in his studio in Marrickville. Let Me Loose was also co-produced and mixed by Caleb Harris in Chicago. The sheer athleticism of the drums and colourful West African percussion was performed by Bobby Alu and mastered to perfection by Trent Dobson (Angus

Ludovico Einaudi is known the world over through films and TV. His music has featured in titles including Black Swan, Doctor Zhivago, This is England and many more. In 2011 his track I Giorni was played on Radio 1, and his haunting melodies are timeless in their beauty.

Follow me for new and bespoke recordings straight from the label.

More info: www.nilsfrahm.com

Management: 
felix(at)agentur-grimm(dot)com


Winner of the Queen Elisabeth (2009) and Yehudi Menuhin Competitions (2008), Ray Chen is among the most compelling young violinists today.   “Ray has proven himself to be a very pure musician with great qualities such as a beautiful youthful tone, vitality and lightness.   He has all the skills of a truly musical interpreter,” said the great Maxim Vengerov.
Ray has released two critically acclaimed albums on Sony: a recital program “Virtuoso” of works by Bach, Tartini, Franck, and Wieniawski, and the Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky concertos with Swedish Radio Orchestra and Daniel Harding.   Following the success of these recordings, Ray was profiled by The Strad and Gramophone magazines as “the one to watch”.   “Virtuoso” was distinguished with the prestigious ECHO Klassik award.   He is currently working on his third, all-Mozart album with Christoph Eschenbach and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, slated for release later this year.
Ray continues to win the admiration of fans and fellow musicians worldwide.   In 2012, he became the youngest soloist ever to perform in the televised Nobel Prize Concert for the Nobel Laureates and the Swedish Royal Family.   His Carnegie Hall debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Sakari Oramo, as well as his sold-out Musikverein concert with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly were met with standing ovations.   Since the 2012- 13 season, Ray has been invited to join Konzerthaus Dortmund's series “Junge Wilde,” which presents young and groundbreaking artists in Germany.   Later this season, Ray will make his San Francisco recital debut at the SF Jazz Center. He also looks forward to his upcoming recital tour of Australia and his debuts with the Orchestre National de France and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Followed by over 500,000 people on SoundCloud, Ray Chen looks to expand the classical music audience by increasing its appeal to the young generation via all available social media platforms.   He is the first ever classical musician to be invited to write a regular blog about his life as a touring soloist for the largest Italian publishing house, RCS Rizzoli (Corriere della Sera, Gazzetta dello Sport, Max).   In his unstinting efforts to break down barriers between classical music, fashion and pop culture, he is supported by Giorgio Armani and was recently featured in Vogue magazine.
Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Ray was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age 15, where he studied with Aaron Rosand and was supported by Young Concert Artists.   He plays the 1702 "Lord Newlands" Stradivarius violin on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

No one could have imagined at that time what to expect - like Xavier de Maistre himself, when he decided to change the face of the harp 16 years ago. Today he plays pieces like "Moldau" by Smetana in breathtaking precision and presents masterful pieces of music that are usually played by an entire orchestra.

Meanwhile, a worldwide audience listens to his virtuosity and enjoys the unprecedented sounds. Pieces, that no harpist played before, or even thought about - like the Haydn piano concertos. Not only that makes him one of the most extraordinary musicians, even masters of this time.

Xavier de Maistre began to study harp with 9 years. Like many other famous musicians, all started with love - but in this case not as expected the love to his harp. It was rather the love for his former teacher, who offered extra harp lessons. Early, it turned out that Xavier has a great talent and no wonder he started with 25 years to play for the Vienna Philharmonic. Before that he played 3 years for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and in 1998 Xavier won the first prize of the "USA International Harp Competition“, the major harp competitions in the world. But since Xavier´s family is not from a traditional harp-playing dynasty they put great importance to a solid education. So Xavier started his study of politics at the „Institut des Sciences Politiques“ in Paris and spent 1 year in London at the „London School of Economics ", when he finally decided to prefer music to the political studies. For a musician, he achieved very early what all harpists dream of – a position in one of the best orchestras in the world, the Vienna Philharmonic.

However Xavier de Maistre was about to go on. To see this point as the highlight of the career, which would definitely be a great honor for most of the harpists, and aslo for Xavier, but it was also a kind of sad moment. He achieved the ultimate goal of a harpist at age 25. Through his countless appearances and his keen ambition he has always wants to refute the long-existing bias of the harp - played in the background by angel-like women. Thanks to his his quick anticipation, intelligence and tremendous skill, he has played many pieces as a soloist with the harp and delighted thousands of listeners. Finally, he succeeds to establish the harp as an independent instrument. During his career, many great conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Andre Previn, and Daniele Gatti became curious on him and his passion and asked him to play with them. A long series of concerts follows, convincing the audience that Xavier de Maistre is undoubtedly the master of his instrument. Not for nothing, beside famous conductors, also the most successful singers like Barbara Bonney, Kathleen Battle and Diana Damrau played with him. Likewise, of course, the long list of world-renowned opera houses which he had already visited: Theatre des Champs Elysees Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Musikverein Vienna, Tokyo Opera City, Lincoln Center New York, Salzburg Festival, La Scala Milan and many others.

No wonder, Xavier´s enthusiasm and his gift to play will not put an end to this success story. Awarded with the Echo Klassik Award 2009 for his album "Nuit d'Etoiles" as "Instrumentalist of the Year" (Sony Music) he reaps the fruits of his labor.

For more than 9 years Xavier de Maistre is working as a professor at the Musikhochschule Hamburg and now also teaches at the Julliard School in New York, at the Toho University in Tokyo and in London at Trinity College. After 11 years with the Vienna Philharmonic Xavier leaves his position in order to devote himself to his international solo career - a step that no harpist has done before.

Jaceline Mateus is following