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Songwriter Paris Hampton met Tim Bright, then the guitarist for Lisa Loeb's Nine Stories, after the 1995 MTV Music Awards at a late-night party thrown by REM. Striking up a conversation about The Smiths' Johnny Marr, the two bonded over their love of music - and the fact that they were the only two non-celebrities in the room. The pair began writing songs together and formed the band Samsara (Sum-SAR-uh). With an accessible blend of bittersweet lyrics and fizzy melodies, the Samsara sound is equal parts Friday night out in the city and Saturday afternoon at the beach. Samsara soon began recording and performing in the New York City area. In 1996, the band was asked to be part of the closing week of the infamous club Sine, along with Ween, Jeff Buckley and Alan Ginsberg. Samsara's first independent record, Postcard (1997), reached #15 on the CMJ top 200 chart, received extensive college and commercial radio play across the U.S. and was honored with great reviews (AP and CMJ artist of the month) during initial release. They joined the Lilith fair tours in 1998 and 1999, playing with artists including Missy Elliot, Sheryl Crow, Morcheeba and Bonnie Raitt. The band signed with Warner Brothers Records/Ruffnation in 1999 and recorded their eponymous major-label debut, produced by Tim in his 60 Cycle studio. In late 2000, the video for the track "Tuning Out" was featured on MTV's "House of Style," hosted by Molly Simms, and was subsequently added to rotation on MTV2. Samsara toured with Duran Duran in 2001 and began writing music for their next release. At the close of that year, label consolidations found Samsara in contract limbo. Parting ways with Warner Brothers, they took time off to pursue other activities. Paris wrote a novel set in the music industry and became the voice for "Maybe It's Maybelline" and the theme song to E!'s popular "Anna Nicole Smith Show." Tim produced indie rock bands and wrote music for Target and Heineken commercials, and cowrote and performed the theme to NBC's "Scrubs" with his other band, Lazlo Bane. During this time, Samsara wrote or licensed tracks for TNT's James Bond marathon, the William H. Macy film "Panic," and commercials for Target and Chrysler. Producer Tim O'Heir (All-American Rejects, Folk Implosion) helped produce Samsara's latest release, "Fast Too Slow." The album was recorded in 2003 and 2004 at 60 Cycle and Trout Studios, with Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Luna, Phish). The band now also includes Jonny Cragg (The 22's, Spacehog), Christian Bongers (Botanica, Longwave), John Deley (Dido, wedding party of Ianelli and DeGotti) and Matt Beck (Matchbox Twenty, Tracey Bonham). With a sound that Paris describes as "Ozzy meets Abba," Samsara's record of sing-along melodies, unexpected twists on production, and pop sensibilities practically demands multiple returns to a listener's iPod 'Repeat' button. When Paris and Tim exchanged numbers at a party years ago, neither of them realized how long that conversation would last. "Fast Too Slow" is the latest entry in an ongoing dialogue-one that never forgets to have fun. Check out the artist's website: http://www.samsaraband.com Track List: 1. This Is How We Rock 2. All Tomorrow's Parties 3. Trampoline 4. Everything I Had I Lost 5. Static Keeping Rhythm 6. The Otherside of Never 7. Tabitha Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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