His acoustic-guitar driven folk-pop is as comforting as a warm bed on a winter evening; his haunting melodies will carry you away to a land where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies… Mark Crozer has been immersed in the world of music for as long as he can remember. It all began at the age of four or five, listening to Beatles singles on his parents’ mono record player in his hometown of Oxford, England. He became enchanted by the sounds coming out of the crackling speaker and decided that he too wanted to be in a band. Undeterred by his inability to actually play any musical instruments, he began composing, using whatever he could find: an old fireguard, a flour bin, teacups and other kitchen paraphernalia. He wrote his first song on his 9th birthday on his brand new nylon string guitar. He knew he’d found his calling in life…

Many years later and after stints in several indie bands as a guitarist, Mark finally found his feet as a singer and a songwriter. A strange series of events and mysterious encounters that found him living in Vancouver, Canada lead to the release of ‘Shining Down On Me,’ his debut album of self-penned material. The album, which blends Mark’s love for his first heroes The Beatles with the soundtrack of his teenage years (1980’s Brit Pop), was a surprising hit with Vancouver’s music fans. He found himself performing live on TV and radio, in clubs and cafes and his album was being played on campus and community radio stations across the country. Soon he was hitting the college radio charts - # 2 at CKLU in Sudbury, Ontario - and being called ‘devastatingly talented’ by Sue Braiden, a CBC radio contributor and mp3.com aficionado…

Following the success of ‘Shining Down On Me’ it only made sense to put out a second album. Mark had been writing new material and was progressing quickly as a songwriter, exploring more unusual ground lyrically and melodically. He had noticed that his fans really loved his solo acoustic shows so decided to record a more stripped-down album this time around. ‘Unnatural World’ was recorded on and off during late 2000 and early 2001 and was released in February 2002. The album features 10 songs, 6 of which are solo acoustic performances recorded live to DAT. It is perhaps on these tracks that Mark’s star shines brightest. Songs like ‘Surrounded By Love’ and ‘Breaking The Waves’ show Mark’s maturing talent as a songwriter and his voice has never sounded so rich and warm. Elsewhere, on some of the more produced tracks such as ‘Better Than The Truth,’ Mark proves he’s capable of writing pop songs that you’ll find yourself humming in the shower…

So, open wide your eyes and ears and step into Mark Crozer’s ‘Unnatural World.’ Don’t forget to tell a grown up where you’re going…