Elizabeth Harper Brooklyn, NY

Though she was born and raised in sunny Southern California, Elizabeth Harper grew up listening to the sounds of rainy Manchester. For obvious reasons, the two never seemed to fit. So when she had her first chance to escape, Elizabeth headed to New York City with the proverbial suitcase in hand. She had an invitation to perform with the prestigious WOW theater company. But after a few weeks of avant guard theater, she found herself as many fresh faced new comers do: homeless and hapless in New York City.

Early crowd favorites, 'Trouble In The Palace', 'Accidental Flirt' and 'Rock Like a baby' earned their places on the record. Word reached the UK's Angular Records founder who caught her set opening up for Johnny Marr at the Mercury lounge. Angular was about to hit the indie jackpot on its first two compilations by being the first label to discover and release material by Bloc Party, Art Brut, and the Long Blondes. Elizabeth placed standout tracks on both compilations and Angular eventually released Elizabeth's full length debut in the winter of 2005 to great acclaim.

The UK's taste making music magazines, NME, Dazed & Confused and Q Magazine, began championing Elizabeth's music. She toured the UK opening up for the Long Blondes, and performed at acclaimed Manchester music conference 'In The City' where she was invited to perform at the conference's keynote speech. As a crowning achievement, Elizabeth learned that What's On in London highlighted her in their annual new music issue. Though the magazine also featured the Kaiser Chiefs, Maximo Park, and Go! Team, Elizabeth was selected to grace the cover and the magazine proclaimed her "the voice of 2005." And upon returning home, she was asked to contribute her track "Parlor Window" to Jane Magazine's new music compilation along with Bright Eyes, Death Cab for Cutie, and Duran Duran.

With her debut album swooning fans across the Atlantic, word quickly reached across the Pacific to Roji records, who signed on to release the album in Japan in November of 2005. Roji was even able to secure massive radio support, with 'Trouble in the Palace' reaching power play rotation on FM Kyoto, FM Nagoya, and FM Tokyo - one of the largest radio stations in Japan. Elizabeth, once the store cat, is now poised to tour many more places.


Check out Elizabeth's music video "Let Me Take You Out" HERE.

Also check out an interview by Jezebel Music with Elizabeth and her band HERE.

Photo credit: Bek Andersen