Dru Chen is an Australian pop, funk and soul singer-songwriter. Born in Melbourne in 1990, Dru moved with his family to Singapore in 1998, where his interest in music began – as a young concert violinist and pianist.
Fast-forward to 2008, Dru turned down a Berklee scholarship to stay in Australia and work on his own music. Armed with equal proficiency on voice, guitar, keyboards, bass and music production, Dru quickly made a name for himself.
In 2013, Dru released his debut single ‘You Bring Out The Best in Me’, a happy-go-lucky combination of retro soul with pop hooks. It was swiftly added to community radio stations RRR, PBS and Joy FM in Australia.
It's vintage Soul Train-inspired music video (choreographed by Kimbra, Delta Goodrem and Guy Sebastian dancer Aisha Kuryana) has since garnered 20,000 views on YouTube and was featured on blogs Tone Deaf and The Next 2 Shine alongside Lianne La Havas. The song also featured The Bamboos' Graeme Pogson on drums.
The ‘Intentions EP’ soon followed, and has since sold 1000 copies. The EP’s second single 'Turnaround’ will be released in 2014 accompanied by its film noir Sin City-inspired film clip.
Dru's commanding stage delivery and musicianship has landed him on several internationally renowned stages including appearances at Mosaic Music Festival in Singapore alongside Babyface, Joss Stone, Esperanza Spalding and Grizzly Bear. In Australia, Dru has performed onstage and collaborated with members of The Bamboos and Saskwatch. Other festival appearances include Anglesea Music Festival, Caxton St Seafood & Wine Festival, Darebin Music Feast, and Stringybark Suburban Sustainability Festival.
Dru's soulful yet poppy approach has found his music being played on radio stations around the world including 93.8FM, LUSH 99.5 in Singapore, Triple R, PBS106.7, 4zZz, Switch 1197 and JOY FM in Australia, and WKCR89.9 in New York, USA, while being featured on blog sites TheNext2Shine, Music Weekly Asia, Bandwagon, Poached Mag, and newspapers mX and TODAY.
Listen back to Black Wax with Adam for a live set from Dru Chen.
