Christopher Anderson and Thomas Hien became close friends during their years at the historic art school in Liverpool. They played the Irish pubs and sang for the Queen while they earned music degrees in film composition.[2]
In the late 1990s, the two had created "Cook Au Van", a travelling cooking show. The vehicle for the show was an old gas board utility van that they had converted into a five star restaurant. Made from found objects, the van boasted water fountains, changing works of art and a fully functional wet bar. Inside the van, they hosted dinner parties for the Lord Mayor and countless British celebrities.[3] After doing the circus lifestyle with the traveling restaurant and cooking for the likes of Jarvis Cocker, Bill Drummond, politicians and fine artists, the two had decided to turn back to their true love of music.[4]
The duo's live debut was on November 18, 2003, at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles, California, opening for singer-songwriter Alexi Murdoch. Their unique live performance, which involved playing with one condenser microphone and gathering around it like some modern day Carter Family, quickly earned Chris and Thomas a name on the L.A. club circuit.[2]
A breakthrough event for the duo occurred while returning from a weekend in Joshua Tree, where the two were greeted by multiple phone messages from excited friends who had heard their song "Take These Thoughts" on L.A.'s influential KCRW. Their EP, Vista Street Sessions, was passed on by a mutual friend to the station's tastemaker DJ and music director Nic Harcourt. Harcourt programmed the disc on his show, and eventually included it on NPR's syndicated Sounds Eclectic, which introduced a national audience to Chris and Thomas.[2]
On-air performances on KCRW and other radio stations followed with appearances at SXSW and other venues and festivals throughout the country. More radio stations have added Chris and Thomas to their playlists in the US, and Europe.[2]
"Take These Thoughts" won best song of the year in the Americana category at the Independent Music Awards 2006. The duo's full-length debut Land Of Sea was recorded with producer/engineer Mark Howard (Bob Dylan, U2, Tom Waits). Howard, who used to work with producer Daniel Lanois for over ten years, has a unique way of recording. He rented out an old sound stage in Hollywood, where he set up vintage recording equipment, Persian rugs, and Victorian lamps and brought in musicians to accompany Chris and Thomas on their record.[2]
The record was first released in the UK in 2006 in conjunction with a five-week tour and has gained critical acclaim and positive reviews (4 stars) and runner-up to album of the month in the music magazine MOJO. The US release occurred in late August 2007.
With their records being played on NPR, Chris and Thomas have an audience everywhere they play: places like the Roxy in Los Angeles, and the Mercury Lounge in New York.[2]
After performing in the US for years they have become recognized by NPR including:
He has a home in Los Angeles and is working on a book of visual poem stories for various mediums centered around the sun, nourishing food, vital music, and kind people and the evolution of all things that come and go.
Thomas Hien
Thomas Hien was born in Munich, Germany and is a singer, songwriter, composer and music producer.
His publishing and recording deals with various publishers and record labels include Siegel, Red House Music, Seven Scores, Boar Records, Kobalt Music Group and Defend Music. In 1998 (to 1999) he joined the UK band The Managers; they released an album and toured the UK. In 1995 and 1996 he performed with multi-platinum selling artists Cliff Richard and Jennifer Rush as their guitar player on TV appearances in Germany.
