Music for Brightlights 2010

RAJKO

 

Rajko is a London born singer/songwriter with a delicate but distinctive musical touch. Having toured independently and performed at some of the finest acoustic venues in the UK and USA, he is a captivating performer who connects with his audience through his gentle honesty and positive sentiment. 

He recorded the debut album ‘Poor as a Church Mouse’ under his own record label, which can be found on Itunes and Amazon. Rajko is currently working on his follow-up album which will be produced and recorded by Californian producer Bear Erikson, in his studios in Solvang, California.  
In 2007/2008 Rajko starred in a BBC and Discovery Channel documentary about remote indigenous tribes. The documentary, entitled ‘Last Man Standing’ received critical acclaim in the United Kingdom and has now aired in more than twenty countries worldwide.
Rajko's music whilst not always overtly spiritual, is distinctly shaped by his Christian faith and the outlook on life which he feels 'the Christian perspective' gives. Songs like 'Time' and 'Really Truly' express a spiritual hope and inner-strength, which Rajko connects directly to his faith in God.

BALIVA

My name is Mark “Baliva” Johnes. I was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1983. Growing up in Harare, I was exposed to the music industry from an early age. I learned a lot from my father who worked for the national radio station. I would follow him to private functions wanting to learn all I could. I spent hours going through his collections recording songs onto cassette tape and learning lyrics then rapping them with my friends at school. I started recording with my school friends back in 1998. After moving to London in 2001 to study media, I spent my spare time in community studio projects recording songs and performing at open mic events around the city.

After attending a youth bible study in Summer 2003, I began to follow Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I felt a call to use my musical gifts to spread the gospel but for almost two years I lived a double life, I was half in the church and half in the world. Music was my idol and I often put music before my relationship with God as I compromised in order to achieve worldly success. I quickly learned that what the world defined as success was in complete opposition to what the bible taught so I gave up on all my solo pursuits in summer 2005 and decided to use my money, my talents and my time to show the world that God is real and alive.

Since then I have had the opportunity to travel around the UK performing with other Christian Mc’s on street corners and church events. A group of us put together a gospel mix tape in 2006 and I then released my first EP called “The Resurrection” in 2007. In Summer 2008 I released a 10 track EP called “Sunrise” and took to the streets of London performing and giving out copies to people who were touched by the music.

OWEN RALPH

Combining passionate lyrics painting pictures of a child living in poverty, an epic battle or a simple love scene with a range of musical styles and a wide arsenal of musical instruments, Owen Ralph is a musician with a passion for change and justice. Currently putting the finishing touches to his debut album 'Hopeless Dream', Owen is one of the few singer-songwriters you'll ever see who will drop everything half way through a song to throw in a bassoon solo, use his body as percussion and play a violin like a ukulele (and vice versa!). http://www.owenralph.com