Biography
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Born In
Burnaby, Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Singer-songwriter Morgan Finlay is a Canadian-born, but globally minded musician, with an impressive history of touching the minds and souls of many fans from many places. With a voice that has been compared to those of Bruce Cockburn and Jeff Buckley, Finlay’s sound is complex, passionate and reinforced by poetically strong lyrics.
An independent artist who holds a deep respect for his fan base, Finlay’s music has been described as “…impossible to stop listening to” (Jody Andruszkiewicz, Conestoga Students Inc.) and “…a cut above most independent releases” (Tim Hartin, The Night Owl). His professional career in music saw his first single, zensong (Uppercut, 2002) reach the #2 spot on the Australian Independent Radio Charts, and Finlay has been on an upward trajectory ever since.
Hailing from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Finlay’s interest in music began to develop as a child when he honed his skills in violin, choir, opera, acapella and jazz. By the age of 16, Finlay had started writing his own songs. Finding inspiration in that which surrounds him has allowed for a diverse range of sound that remains highly personal, yet profoundly relatable.
From his beginnings on the Canadian campus circuit with the rock production of ‘Uppercut’ (2002) through the intimacy of ‘Splice’ (2004) and his two full-length releases of ‘Everything Will Work Out Right’ (2005) and ‘Shifting Through the Breakers’ (2007), Finlay has traveled both a physical and creative journey along the winding roads of indie music. With these past releases, Finlay achieved significant radio play across the globe and performed over 400 shows in Canada, Germany, Austria, the U.K., Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia and the Netherlands.
Finlay’s dedication to his fans goes beyond standard gratitude. He has engaged his fan base to a far greater level than most musicians, including them in his creative process by not only allowing his fans to select the songs for his fifth album, 'Latitude', but also by reaching out to them for fan-produced music videos to accompany the album’s release in January 2012. Leading up to the release of the 13-track album, he posted 10 originally produced videos, each showing the vision and perspective the songs have from the fan’s point of view. Finlay’s allegiance to his fans went even further as his campaign with IndieGoGo.com, a crowd-funding platform, raised more than enough funds to produce, market and tour 'Latitude' through Europe in the spring of 2012.
Contributing their musical talents to ‘Latitude’ are guitarist Dean Drouillard (Sarah Harmer, Royal Wood), cellist Mike Olsen (Arcade Fire, Hidden Cameras), bassist Marlow Holder (Kinnie Starr, Zubot & Dawson), drummer Brendan Hamley (David Celia, Anton Barbeau), and accordionist Katheryn Petersen.
An advocate for the environment, Finlay’s next release 'Latitude' is in digital download format and is available on CDBaby, Bandcamp and iTunes. Accompanying the digital album is a hardcopy booklet, featuring song lyrics and a stunning collection of images by Dominik Dunsch. Finlay is endorsed by Seagull Guitars and Dayton Boots and uses D’Addario Strings. Visit morganfinlay.com for information on upcoming shows, links to fanpages and blogs, and pictures and updates.
On last.fm he goes by the user name 'morgfinlay'.
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