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All Music Guide:
Canadian singer/songwriter Basia Bulat became one of the indie world's most talked about newcomers with the release of her first full-length album, 2007's Oh, My Darling. Originally from Toronto, Bulat later resettled in the quieter community of London, Ontario, where she recorded a self-released EP in 2005. Her rich, expressive voice proved to be the ideal vehicle for her songs, which dealt with love and life with a combination of sadness and wonder, and her melodies were bolstered by a band that incorporated strings and keyboards along with the traditional drums and guitar. In 2006, producer Howard Bilerman -- best known for his work with the Arcade Fire -- took Bulat and her band into the studio to record her first full-length album; the result, Oh, My Darling, caught the ear of the esteemed U.K. label Rough Trade, which signed Bulat and released the disc in the spring of 2007, before she had a deal in Canada or the United States.
British reviews for Oh, My Darling were enthusiastic, and a tour of England and Europe impressed critics and fans alike. The Canadian independent label Hardwood Records (home to noted singer/songwriter Hayden) signed Bulat in the summer of 2007 and released Oh, My Darling the following fall. The album fared well in Bulat's homeland, where it was short-listed for Canada's Polaris Music Prize (an honor it lost to Caribou) and encouraged Bulat to continue touring. She remained on the road for several years, playing a slew of international dates while compiling material for her next album. Heart of My Own arrived in early 2010.
Wikipedia:
Basia Bulat (born April 13, 1984) /ˈɒʃə uːˈɒ/, is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. She is known for performing with an autoharp.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Career[edit]
Basia Bulat grew up in Etobicoke, Ontario where her mother was a music teacher who taught piano and guitar. She is an honorary member of Ontario's "Polonia" Polish community. She has said the radio at home was permanently tuned to an oldies station. “I don’t think I realised the radio had more than one station til I was 11 or 12,” Basia Bulat says. She attended the University of Western Ontario where she received a degree in English; she also took some classes with Olenka Krakus, also of Polish descent, of the band Olenka and the Autumn Lovers. While a student there, she was coaxed by friends into opening for Julie Doiron and soon gained a local following.
She released an independent EP in 2005 and was subsequently signed to Rough Trade Records, which released her full-length debut album, Oh, My Darling in April 2007. The album was later released in Canada by Hayden's Hardwood Records.
Her singles "Snakes and Ladders", "Little One" and "I Was a Daughter" have been playlisted on CBC Radio 3 while various tracks have received airplay on college radio in Canada and the United States. Her album Oh, My Darling made the short list for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize.
Bulat has toured across Canada, the U.S., Europe; in June 2008, she ventured to Australia. She played the 2008 Dawson City Music Festival in the Yukon. Bulat cited the week she spent in the quiet and remote location as an inspiration for her songwriting.
Her second album, Heart of My Own, was released by Rough Trade Records in the US and Canada on January 26, 2010.
Bulat appeared on Hockey Night in Canada on December 10, 2011, during which she sang the Canadian national anthem at an Ottawa Senators game at Canadian Tire Centre.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Other media[edit]
The song "Little Waltz" was used in a 2007 Australian Volkswagen Eos advertisement.Her first official music video, "In the Night," was released in December 2007.The song "In the Night" was used on AMC's Every Night at 8 promotion for February 2008.The song "Before I Knew" was used in a commercial for 2010 Subaru Outback.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
