Artists

MARK ISLAM: The Fine Print

Part journalist, part introspective troubadour, Mark Islam is, by his own admission, "first & foremost a songwriter. I'm the guy who oberves from a distance with pen in hand, recording my perceptions." Not particularly given to cheap, greeting card sentimentality, the Delaware native serves up 12 songs -- which he either wrote or co-wrote -- based on his observations of life in Los Angeles. Like F. Scott Fitzgerald, who chronicled the golden era of Hollywood's Jazz Age in the 1920's, Islam spins engaging yarns about the denizens of La La Land: the upstarts, the scions of the celebrated, the fallen stars, and on a more personal note, the quest for love in a transient culture with a dminished attention span.

His gaze is so shrewd & incisive that many inside the Hollywood grapevine want to know exactly whom many of the character portraits are about. Who is, for example, "the son of a living legend" depicted in the tune "Poor Little Rich Kid"? Who is the mogul "found face down on the bathroom floor" in the eerie recitation "Natural Causes"?

Once again working with producer Edward Tree ("a songwriter's best friend," according to the artist), Islam has recorded in analog to capture a warm, organic sound for his hybrid of country, rock & folk. For the sessions, Islam & Tree assembled veritable legends, who, between them, have recorded and/or toured with the likes of Dwight Yoakam, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, Linda Ronstadt, the Byrds, & Beck. And that's just the short list.

WHAT PEOPLE HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT MARK ISLAM, THE SONGWRITER:

"Regardless of genre classification, Islam proves himself to be a tunesmith worthy of attention from a wide-ranging audience with THE FINE PRINT. At the set's core are well-crafted songs, delivered in a rich, empathetic voice...He's quite a charismatic, endearing performer." -BILLBOARD

"Islam's songs are straightforward and discursive;
their aesthetic appeal emerges from the arrangement of acoustic and electric guitars, pedal steel, piano, organ and drums." -PERFORMING SONGWRITER

"This is a refreshing new artist who sings and plays by his own rules and his own convictions." -GENRE

"A larger supporting cast allows Mark Islam a more rounded sound on his sophomore album...The musician seems to excel as part of a larger contingent. Moving from radio-friendly country songs to traditional folk to traditional country in the gorgeous 'That Restless Feeling,' his style isn't easy to pigeonhole." -ALL MUSIC GUIDE

"...gritty, honest portraits. He's unafraid to look at the rough, even ugly, side of people, taking on such subjects as disappointing lives, raging sex drives and the difficulty of keeping love...Islam is a great songwriter." -CHICAGO FREE PRESS

"He'll never back down from an issue and takes on subjects that range from missed dreams to failures in love in his songs that are obviously plucked straight from his own experiences in Nashville and Los Angeles." -CHART ATTACK (Canada)

"With a vocal style to match his looks - strong and sultry -- he works his style to great effect, singing of insecurity, desire and love." -QUEENSLAND PRIDE (Australia)

"A natural spinner of tales, Islam sings of unhappy rich kids and overnight sensations who are anything but quick successes. Most memorable are sad songs of the restless and lonely; 'That Restless Feeling' especially stands up to anything in the country charts today..." -BOSTONIA

"He's a song craftsman more than anything else...He knows how to work a song so that it instantly appeals and gets to you." -John V. Frame, 4ZZZ-FM (Brisbane, Australia)

"THE FINE PRINT comes alive with characters created and pondered." -SOUTHERN VOICE (Atlanta)

"I arrived at the WRSU-FM studios just before the show began, walked into the room where the album was playing, and was instantly struck by how good the song I was listening to was. It was track 9, The Well of Loneliness. And, folks, honestly, there just aren't that many albums with great track 9's! So just imagine what the rest of the album is like." -BILL STELLA, WRSU-FM (New Brunswick, NJ)

"The songwriter is a fine singer who crosses back & forth between country & folk-rock seamlessly. He can be gentle & sensual or gruff & solid...He can croon tunefully or speak a segment naturally without throwing things out of kilter." -THE SLANT (San Francisco)

"...as fresh as a dewdrop desperately clinging to a hand-hewn cedar fencepost leaning into the morning sun...Love it. Love Mark Islam." -STONEWALL NEWS NORTHWEST (Spokane, WA)

"THE FINE PRINT presents listeners with the challenge to rethink their priorities in order to create a bit more peace in their lives...Equally matched to his songwriting abilities, Islam delivers his messages with a voice that is inviting, enticing, and intoxicating." -FAB! (Los Angeles)

"Islam shows an ability to establish a mood and offer an unusual perspective on routine events." -REVOLVER (Sydney, Australia)

"Clever, insightful singer/songwriter Mark Islam shows a knack for catchy choruses...The songs are peppered with intelligent, socially-conscious lyrics which are consistently interesting." -MUSIC CONNECTION

"Mark Islam is a very interesting person in both conversation & in his music." -hEARd (Australia)

Check out the artist's website:
http://www.markislam.com

Track List:
1. Gold Enough
2. That Restless Feeling
3. Invisible Girl
4. We Might Fall In Love
5. Drift Apart
6. Treading Water
7. Poor Little Rich Kid
8. Trick
9. The Well of Loneliness
10. He's Got a Life
11. Slip Away (But Not Before You Say Goodbye)
12. Natural Causes

Suggested CDs:

Other Genres: