FOR someone who got to watch television, listen to the radio and was exposed to pop culture only when she turned 10, Diane Birch has caught up fast.
This Michigan singer-songwriter, signed to Mercury Records’ S-Curve label, has been on the road to promote her debut, Bible Belt. She will be in town for the SingFest concert on Aug 4.
The daughter of a preacher father, she heard only operas and church hymns as a child.
On the line from London where she was touring, the 27-year-old described her introduction to the secular world as “a real shock”.
“The Bible was a heavily-discussed entity” at home, she said, explaining the name for her album. The tome “got too restrictive...like a belt that got a little too tight”, she added.
Bible Belt peaked at No. 87 on the US Billboard 200 – an achievement she is proud of.
“The success of Bible Belt has been really exciting. I get to do what I like – travel and play music at the same time,” she chirped.
Earlier this year, she toured with Nick Jonas as his opening act for his American tour, and was also in the same line-up as Stevie Wonder and James Morrison when she performed at the Hyde Park Festival in London last month.
She relishes “the fact that I can play my music to the Stevie Wonder and Nick Jonas crowd”.
Not surprisingly, she does not care for labelling.
“I am most comfortable behind the piano. The singer-songwriter title came later and it is probably just a general term to identify a certain genre,” she said a little shyly.
Her boyfriend of two years, Ariel Stark-Benz, a DJ, model and art director, inspires her.
Birch gushed: “I love to dance to his mixes and I really like the rhythmic elements of disco and the consistency of the drums in funk – I will certainly try them for my next album.”
She hopes to kick-start preparations for her next album and release it by the end of next year.
She added: “I love to have people dance to my music and I want to make more of that kind of music.”
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Diane Birch performs at the SingFest concert at Fort Canning Park on Aug 4 at 6pm. Tickets for the festival cost $175 per day. Visit www.sistic.com.sg for details.
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