Rafael Karlen

Rafael Karlen, Steve Newcomb and Toby Wren are three award winning Brisbane-based performers and composers. In June 2016 they recorded an album consisting of original compositions, a Swedish Folksong, a 

Renaissance piece by Dufay and a Schubert Serenade and are seeking funding to assist with the production costs of releasing it. The album will be called Trace and will be featured on the Pinnacles Music Label.

About us

Rafael Karlen is saxophonist, composer and arranger.

He was awarded a prestigious Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship in 2015 which allowed him to travel to America, Holland, Denmark, England, Germany, Norway and Sweden to study contemporary music performance, composition and directing. Along with Kristin Berardi and Sean Foran he was recently awarded a 2016 Australian Art Music Award for Excellence in Jazz for a recent collaborative project. Rafael was a finalist in the 2009 Bell Awards for both Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year and Best Jazz Composition of the Year categories. In 2016 he was featured with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra as a composer, performer and director. Rafael has released three albums featuring his original music and has performed in England, Scotland, Sweden, Canada and throughout Australia.

Steve Newcomb is an Australian pianist, composer, arranger who in 2013 completed doctoral study at the Manhattan School of Music in composition, with Jim McNeely (Vanguard Jazz Orchestra). He is in demand for commission work as a composer, and has written for a wide array of musical artists, from Ben Folds, Ben Lee and The Panics in the pop world, to the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras in the classical world. His has collaborated with Australian vocalist Katie Noonan on many projects, including the ARIA (Australian Grammy) award winning album “First Seed Ripening”, and the song cycle plus Circus project titled LOVE SONG CIRCUS, which premiered at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2012. 

Toby Wren is one of Australia’s most compelling and original artists. Gigging from an early age in Blues, Rock, Classical and Fusion, Wren went on to study composition at the Queensland Conservatorium. The synthesis of these styles into Toby’s compositions and performances has seen his various groups achieve national recognition. He has had orchestral pieces performed by the Queensland, West Australian and Sydney Symphony orchestras, written arrangements for rock bands like George, Rhubarb, Blind and Chris Pickering and been a member of countless jazz, rock and new music groups. He was also a member of composers collective Compost (1996-2005) and has performed his original compositions all over Australia with the Toby Wren Trio and Toby Wren Quartet (2003- ).

About the album

Trace was recorded over two mornings in June at the Queensland Multicultural Centre by Mark Smith. We were very happy to have Mark recording and mixing this album as he always manages to capture a very beautiful sound from our instruments and has worked on at least five studio projects by Toby, Steve and Rafael.

We were fortunate to record on a beautiful Kawaii Shigeru Grand piano that was featured at the 2016 Brisbane International Jazz Festival. Steve’s playing on this beautiful instrument sounded stunning.

The record features beautiful album design by Sai Karlen and warm photographs by Michelle Secis. Michelle also captured some footage from the recording session which is currently being edited and will be uploaded soon to show some cool studio footage.

The album will be mastered by the renowned Dave Neil and will be released on the Brisbane-based label Pinnacles Music.

The Brisbane launch will be at the Old Museum Building on Sunday December 11 from 6pm with future performances in the pipeline for Sydney and Melbourne.

Releasing an album is not an easy undertaking and we are seeking funding to assist with the expenses involved with mixing, mastering, CD replication, photography/video and artwork. 

Here is what the money will assist with:

- Mixing by Mark Smith and Mastering by Dave Neil of 10 tracks (7 original pieces and three arrangments)

- CD replication of an elegant album with a 6 panel booklet showing off beautiful photos by Michelle Secis and very slick album design by Sai Karlen

- Video footage by Michelle Secis from the studio recording of this album

The overall cost of this project is way higher that the set target so it would be very helpful to receive your support and help in making this possible - Thank you!

The challenge is primarily confined to the area of ‘development’. All the pieces are in place, the album is recorded and mixed and the artwork and production is underway; all that is left is to settle the bills. Between Rafael, Steve and Toby we have been directly involved in the release of over 15 albums so we aware of what is involved.

If you would like to check out some of the other releases by Rafael, Steve and Toby please follow any of the links below:

https://rafaelkarlen.bandcamp.com/

http://www.stevenewcomb.com.au/home

http://www.tobywren.com/products-1/

https://berardiforankarlen.bandcamp.com/