Simone White

Born in Hawaii to a family of artists, Simone White spent her early years playing in the dirt and moving from town to town. Her mother was a folksinger, her father a sculptor, grandma was a burlesque performer and auntie was a pop song writer. Grandfather was a poet who favored the sonnet. Drawn to the arts, Simone acted in plays and films, made photographs and wrote. Needing an instrument for the songs she wrote a cappella, Simone taught herself to play guitar. White moved to NYC from London in 2000 where she began to play music onstage. She recorded her first album with producer David Domanich and musician and friend Frank Bango. White released the album, The Sincere Recording Company Presents, in 2003 on Bango's label The Sincere Recording Company. I Am The Man, her second album, was recorded with producer Mark Nevers, (Lambchop/Calexico/Will Oldham/Silver Jews), in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2006 she was signed to the UK label Honest Jons. I Am The Man was released by Honest Jons/EMI in the UK, Japan, Italy and Holland in 2007 and released in France, Germany and the United States in 2008 through distributors Indigo and Forced Exposure. The album was a favourite with critics from MOJO and Q Magazine to the Daily Mail. The Beep Beep Song, one of the songs from White's second album I Am The Man was used in an Audi R8 advert in the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, South Africa, Sweden and was shown in the half time ad break of the Rugby World Cup Final of 2007. In 2007 and 2008 White toured in the United Kingdom and Europe headlining and supporting various bands: Nouvelle Vague, Alela Diane, Teitur, Stephen Fretwell and Little Dragon. In 2008 she played at the festivals Greenman and WOMAD in the UK. White was a part of Damon Albarn's critically acclaimed "Honest Jons Revue" which toured in July 2008 to the Barbican Center in London, Les Nuits Fourviere Festival in Lyon, and the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City. The Honest Jons Revue included the artists Tony Allen, The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Damon Albarn, Kokanko Sata Doumbia, Lobi Traore, Afel Bocoum, Candi Staton, Simone White and Victoria Williams. On 12 June 2009, White's third album, Yakiimo was released digitally, with a physical release following on 22 June 2009. This album was again released through Honest Jons in the UK. White's albums frequently include covers of songs originally recorded by her friend and collaborator Frank Bango. Such recordings include Roses Are Not Red, Wrong About You, Worm Was Wood and Bunny In A Bunnysuit. White currently lives in Venice, California.