Not only does Maria Daines make rock for the good times, blues for the bad, and music for the soul, she also sings for a very worthy cause — animal welfare.
Hailing from Cambridgeshire, UK, the Maria Daines band formed in 1996 becoming a fixture of the live music scene & making several TV appearances, garnering fans in over 20 countries and recently winning awards including best artist in the International Online Music Awards 2006 & 2007. Frequently aired on BBC radio and FM stations, the band supported US artist Pink at Cardiff International Arena for the Party For Animals World Wide in August 2007. This concert raised over $130,000 for six animal welfare charities.
Maria communicates her profound sympathy for the very real and deeply feeling awareness of animals with undeniable, irresistible conviction. There is no question that she, along with her guitarist and fellow music writer, Paul Killington, is the voice for the helpless and hopeless animals of the world through her incredible musical talent.
If you mix Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Melissa Etheridge, and throw in the soul of Aretha Franklin and the phrasing of Barbara Streisand, you will start to comprehend the powerhouse that is Maria Daines. When Maria sings, everything stops and you know you are in the presence of something entirely outside the normal spectrum. However, it's the melding of her unique voice and style with the guitar and production skills of Paul Killington that really sweep listeners off their feet.
Daines states, "I like to write words before my mind knows how to say them, that semi-second where the hand is writing from pure senses without a crease down the middle or a margin for edit, if it doesn't move me it doesn't get sung. Paul wrestles down the production from guitar and intuition and together we make what we can of what we have inside and out."
Maria Daines & Paul Killington are currently the top radio artists of all time on Songplanet.com, a website that features "the best indie artists on Earth." The duo's four albums, Wisdom's Tooth, Music United For Animals, Brothers of the Road, and Treebone, have all received rave reviews from critics and fans alike.
In a review for the album, Treebone, Frank-John Hadley of Downbeat Magazine states that Daines
has the tremendously exciting voice of a blues diva in the making. Her bluesy rock album with Paul Killington on guitar and all other instruments tantalizes as the precursor to her straight blues recording promised for release later this year. Many vocalists go an entire career without reaching the rarefied heights attained by Daines on the edgy, atmospheric 'Ain't Nobody' and the potent ballad 'Bring Your Love Along.'
For more information on Maria Daines, visit:
Artist website: http://www.maria-daines.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MariaDaines
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mariadaines
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/rockinfortheplanet
Popularity: 79% [?]
Mike Wilson said it soooo..well.
Maria and Paul are a very special talent that only comes along once in a very long while. First time I heard Maria’s voice, I was blown away. Her conviction to the lyrics, her passion and emotions really touched my soul, inspiring in every way, flowing like a river into this listener’s ears.
The cause, “stop cruelty to animals”, they are part of all of us, the message delivered by Maria, especially through her songs, ring across the universe.
And Paul’s guitar work, melodic, rocky, bluesy depending on the mood of the song, is always focused and so well produced.
It’s one of the reasons why their songs were most played when I was a DJ.
My life has been enriched by knowing and having these two as friends for the past few years.
If there was any justice in the music industry, these two, along with their band would be sitting on top of the World. In my mind, they are.
They are always delivering something worthy. Well done!