Rhian Benson

Rhian Benson is enigmatic -- enigmatic because she defies categorization; enigmatic because her life and her music are framed by paradox. Complex and cerebral, Rhian's music is simultaneously warm and soulful, empathetic and ethereal. She's been compared to a diverse range of artists, from Jill Scott to Seal to Sade; from Enya to Lauryn Hill; Dinah Washington to Dido. Rhian's music has been described as R&B, soul, jazz, reggae, hip-hop and world beat - and, to illustrate the paradox of Rhian in only one of a hundred ways -- each of those genres apply.

Rhian - born Rhiannon Afua Benson in Ghana, West Africa - grew up surrounded by music and musicians. Her mother, from Wales in Britain - is a singer, and her father, a native of Ghana , is a guitarist. Rhian's grandfather led an acclaimed big band in the '50s and '60s, her eldest uncle was a popular highlife singer - and her youngest uncle a record producer. Home for Rhian was a place of music; her childhood was immersed in the sounds of Miles Davis, Earth Wind & Fire, Ella Fitzgerald and Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti among many others.

Rhian began working on her debut album (Gold Coast) in 2001 - in addition to singing and playing various instruments, she is writing and composing all the songs, collaborating with a close-knit group of other talented musicians and producers. "I love the entire process, from writing to recording," says Rhian. "There are so many things in life that I care deeply about, and it's very fulfilling to be able to capture and share them in song. The freedom of creating music is addictive - it reminds me of growing up in West Africa , with the sea, the skies, and wide open spaces everywhere." "These same feelings are why I feel at home in California ," Rhian continues. "I've always been drawn to America and the sense of possibility that seems to lie around life's next corner."

With Rhian, that sense of possibility is now more promise than possibility. But it's not about California , it's not about paradox, and it's not about enigma - it's entirely about Rhian.