CLAES CEM, ENGLISH BIO 2016
Claes Cem is a professional musician and singer/songwriter with roots in the Danish soil and the American folk/pop tradition. He is the quintessential self-made ‘free bird’, having learned his craft on his own, outside the established channels. His musical style is catchy, energetic, and contagious, and he moves comfortably in most rhythmic genres.
Claes began exploring the world of music at the tender age of 8, teaching himself how to play his mother’s guitar ambidextrously. His childhood sound track comprised people like Paul Simon, Sting, Billy Joel, and Dave Matthews – artists whose music greatly influenced his own later singing and guitar playing.
Growing up, Claes discovered the world of songwriting and began penning down his joys, pains, and life lessons. He started performing more professionally and for a while toured with the Scottish band ‘Injuns’. By 2008, he received the ‘Best Singer’ accolade in the Danish version of the famed Emergenza Contest. From then on, Claes has cultivated his solo career and has to date performed more than 1,000 shows worldwide, gracing Germany, Scotland, Thailand, America, and Denmark with his gift of song.
In 2008, Claes released his first solo EP, produced in collaboration with Grammy Award winning engineer/producer Carlos Bedoya. Since then, Claes has worked with several prominent American music professionals, e.g. Jamie Slocum of Curb Records and multi-platinum award winning producer/songwriter Scott Mathews. Claes’ music has been featured on tv shows such as ABC’s ‘Extreme Makeover’ and ‘The Bachelor’.
Currently, Claes is completing his solo debut album, MOMENTUM, to be released Summer 2016. To be released alongside the album is the single video ‘Catch on Fire’, recorded in the innovative VR 360 technology and directed by legendary film director Brett Leonard. The music for the album is composed and produced by Claes and his good friend, the talented Danish music professional Julian Winding.