BETTER FOR THE METAPHOR - NPR BEST CDS OF 2008
Cantinero is Christopher Hicken, a British born NY based singer-songwriter/composer who makes lovingly crafted alt/folk-pop. Witty, incisive and coolly melodramatic, Instantly hummable pop song’s, meet keenly observed insights that chronicle the complicated world we live in. Set to live instrumentation with subtle electronic and organic textures.

“Championship Boxing”, the critically acclaimed Artems/V2 Records debut, hit Top 40 on Amazon.com and Top 20 on the CMJ/Triple A Radio , was featured on National Public Radio’s “All Songs Considered” and earned an 11 minute special on NPR’s "Weekend Edition", which drew an audience of over eight million. MTV played the video multiple times.

New album “Better For The Metaphor”, was recorded over an 18 month period after a move from NYC to a rural, secluded log cabin in the Catskill Mountains. Producing the record himself, the album features a wealth of studio and touring musicians who had previously worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder to James Brown, Lambchop and Britney Spears.

Prior to his solo career, the native of Birmingham, England, arrived in America in 1993 with the Alternative-Rock group Bigmouth. When the group dissolved, Hicken spent seven years working as a bartender (hence the moniker “Cantinero,” a nickname bestowed on him by a Spanish co-worker) before deciding to give music another try .

PBS is currently using seven of Cantinero’s songs for its hit TV show “Roadtrip Nation” (which has also featured Sufjan Stevens, Of Montreal and Jack Johnson.) Hicken has recently worked with the Blue Man Group and was the only outside artist opening for Steve Earl on his recent tour. Fuse TV recently produced a special on the making of the new record.

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