For those immersed in the metal realm, Marcus Nand may be known by his collaboration with Mike Tramp (WHITE LION) in forming FREAK OF NATURE. He is a one-of-a-kind musician, a virtuoso guitarist with profound Flamengo background, song-writer, producer and sound engineer.
Nand got his first guitar at the age of seven, exploring rock and blues tunes. He was eight when his family left England for Spain, where he learnt to play Flamengo. He started playing semi-professionally at the age of twelve and debuted with a Spanish heavy metal band at fourteen. Later, he left Spain for Los Angeles, where in 1991, after auditioning for a possible incarnation of RATT, he ended up contributing guitar to the album “Frederiksen/Phillips”, by the late rock singer Dennis “Fergie” Frederiksen (TOTO) and STYX bassist Ricky Phillips. These have been his first professional steps and as it seems, a long, wide road of success was waiting ahead of him…
He is modest enough to describe himself in only two sentences on his Facebook page: “Guitarist for Mike Tramp songs of White Lion. Also worked with Rod Stewart, Ziroq and others.”
Well, others have put it in different words. For example, Rami Jaffee (FOO FIGHTERS) has said, “Marcus knows how to write a song that feels truly rock and at the same time, truly worldly.” Mike Inez (ALICE IN CHAINS) mentioned, “I think he is a great example of a dedicated musician carrying the torch of his genre well into the future.”
photo by Jörg Schnebele
Marcus Nand has presented numerous works in television shows such as Ancient Aliens and Modern Marvels on the History Channel, Animal Planet on the Discovery Channel, and various others. He has worked together with great artists such as Michael David (DAVID BOWIE, NINE INCH NAILS, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, DURAN DURAN, and many more), Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, AXEL RUDI PELL, JOURNEY, SONS OF APOLLO), Carmine Rojas (DAVID BOWIE, B.B.KING, ERIC CLAPTON, TINA TURNER, AL GREEN, IAN ANDERSON, PAUL RODGERS, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, to mention just a few among too many others).
Together with Carmine Rojas, Marcus Nand formed the world music/rock band ZIROQ. He has also performed in the American supergroup fusion trio BOZZIO LEVIN STEVENS of Terry Bozzio (FRANK ZAPPA, STEVE VAI, JEFF BECK, and others), Tony Levin (PETER GRABRIEL, KING CRIMSON) and Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL, MICHAEL JACKSON, VINCE NEIL).
Why bother with so many curriculum vitae details, one may ask.
Because, after ALL these years, ALL these amazing works and projects, this is Nand’s FIRST EVER solo album of all original material, under the fittingly simple title MARCUS NAND.
Absolutely NO NEED for a track-by-track review for this one. Each song is composed or co-written by Nand who pours his heart and soul into this bluesy, soulful, supremely melodic set of tunes. The album Includes guest appearances by Mike Tramp, Carmine Rojas, Steve Stevens and more.
All the sweetness of melodic composition is here, with songs of AOR perfection and pop rock that is both pleasant and thoughtful. The soundscapes are rich in expression, flawlessly executed, brilliantly arranged and developed, and exemplarily produced. The album takes us on a journey that is both introspective and extroverted, connecting the listener with the artists and bridging the world within us with the one around us. This is a reflective musical confession from a great musician who has decided to communicate with his audience on a personal level for the first time, in the simplest, most sincere, authentic, and wonderful way – the way of truth and love! And he achieved his goal, ABSOLUTELY!
So, if you like, sweet, harmonious, exceptional rock music, this is a PERFECT album for you!
“The Traveler” was released on August 2nd by Cleopatra Records, both digitally and on CD.
Check the discussion about the album in our forum pages.
You can pre order both CD and LP here.
