Find all my music on Spotify:
http://sptfy.com/kidnap

For all enquires: sophia@tinysaturnmusic.com

Kidnap is an artist whose music overflows with emotion - rich and powerfully evocative.

Recording in London, Kidnap (real name Matthew Relton) likens his process to that of a sculptor, starting with a block of sound and chopping away until a shape emerges. As such, each song exists ornately carved with a handcrafted subtly.

Still just 33, Relton is already something of an industry veteran. Releasing his first single in 2012 kicked off an eight-year stretch of global touring that came to a grinding halt when the pandemic put the world on pause.

2024 marks a new chapter for Kidnap, with his next body of work on the horizon. Set against the backdrop of a changing world and the arrival of a baby daughter, Relton offers a bittersweet reflection on the passing of time. ‘It’s about looking back on the last 12 years — the touring and the friends and the sleeplessness,” says Relton, “and realising that in order to embrace the life I have now, I need to let it all go.’ The music shimmers with nostalgia. Signature sad melodies dance deftly around commanding synth lines, altogether sounding like an artist with a new found sense of purpose.

The purpose of San Francisco Zen Center is to make accessible and embody the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha as expressed in the Soto Zen tradition established by Dogen Zenji in 13th-century Japan and conveyed to us by Suzuki Roshi and other Buddhist teachers. Our practice flows from the insight that all beings are Buddha, and that sitting in meditation is itself the realization of Buddha nature, or enlightenment.

Ninja Tune has established itself as one of the world’s leading independent record labels. Now a bonafide global music institution, synonymous with diverse, uncompromising releases and equally visionary artists—from breaking-through to GRAMMY-winning, internationally acclaimed acts—committed to pushing the boundaries of music.

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.

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