The girl with the crazy Greek name...
Christina Kulukundis is half English and half Greek, an odd combination you might think, for an alt-country singer-songwriter. Though born and raised in London, she spent summers at her grandparents place in Upstate New York, a mountainous region of the East Coast of America. Here the country sound started to seep in. After university at the Ivy League Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island in the USA, and 6 years living in NYC, she came back to the UK to write and record her first record. She made a critical impact with that 2006 debut release. It got Radio 2 and Radio 4 plays and achieved a coveted 4 stars from Mojo Magazine. The album was also BBC Radio Scotland’s Record of the Week, followed by a live spot on BBC Radio's Loose Ends.
Then came lovely husband Matt Darby, dogs (two), children (two) and, six years ago, a move to the foot of Bredon Hill, the last lonely outcrop of England’s Cotswold Hills. Since then Christina has not been idle. Inspired by her surroundings and the ups and downs of rural life, her record Stars Behind Stars Behind Stars constitutes a long-overdue follow-up to her acclaimed debut. She has also been refining a live set featuring Ben Church (guitar, banjo, harmonica), Pete Bryden (bass guitar, piano), Max Roache (drums), Pete Miln (Fiddle) and Rob Peate (Piano). The alt-country lilt is still there, and the warm, clear vocals, but mixed with a few daggers in the writing that make Christina’s sound all the more penetrating and irresistible.
Ben Church plays guitar, dobro and harmonica. He lives with his wife and small army of sons down a forgotten lane in Great Malvern. Ben's other projects include the bands Deep Elem and Wooden Horse. He has been playing guitar to an astounding level since his early teens.
Pete Bryden is a polymath who lives in splendid isolation on a Norman motte outside Monmouth, overlooking the Welsh border. A lifelong bass player, he also plays the piano and drums, and is currently working hard on the bouzouki. He and his wife Helen have 2 daughters. Pete has been in bands continuously for the past 30 years, including rock band Satori. An accomplished writer and animator, he also created and produced the BBC children's TV series Summerton Mill.