SABRINA STARKE

Sabrina Starke

Sabrina Starke is a Rotterdam singer/songwriter. Inspired by Billie Holiday, Etta James, James Brown, Ruthie Foster, Randy Crawford and Tracy Chapman she writes songs with soul, jazz and hiphop influences.
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Instruments

zang

Former members

Gabriel Smith   achtergrondzang
Mark Pattiapon   toetsinstrumenten
Clemens Blacquière   gitaar
Manouchka Donge   achtergrondzang
Robert Pronk   basgitaar, componist
Gregory Pantophlet   drums
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Mentioned in the biography of

2004   Dina Medina
2007   Giovanca
2011   Bløf
2012   Wudstik
2012   Ziggi Recado
2013   Metropole Orkest
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Concerts & Festivals

by Podiuminfo / Festivalinfo

1/30/21, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, Eindhoven
3/4/21, TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht
3/4/21, TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht

Biography Sabrina Starke

Sabrina Starke is a Rotterdam singer/songwriter. Inspired by Billie Holiday, Etta James, James Brown, Ruthie Foster, Randy Crawford and Tracy Chapman she writes songs with soul, jazz and hiphop influences.

1979 - 2005

Sabrina Starke is born on 9 August 1979 in Paramaribo, Surinam. When she is six years old her parents emigrate to Rotterdam. From the age of twenty she starts taking her career in music seriously, first as singer in the R&B band Maintain and subsequently for four years in the Rotterdam reggae band Equal. Starke takes guitar lessons and starts writing her own repertoire. In 2005 she quits her job as a youth worker and fully concentrates on her solo career as a singer/songwriter.

2006

On 21 May the singer wins the Talent Night, a talent competition at the sold-out Rotterdam Oude Luxor theater, inspired by the famous Amateur Night At The Apollo in Harlem, New York. Starke subsequently flies to the United States and represents the Netherlands during the Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater. She also enters the Grote Prijs van Nederland talent competition. She is the runner-up in the final of the Singer/Songwriter category.

2007 - 2008

Sabrina Starke contributes to The Mighty 8, a compilation released by the Dutch Pop & Rock Institute (1997-2007) in its Unsigned series, in early 2007. Other participating singers are Dinopha, Jav'lin, Neenah, Ntjamrosie, Giovanca, Senna and Sage. Starke takes guitar and singing classes at the conservatory. She comes into contact with the producers duo of Chris Kooreman and Edo Plasschaart, who operate from Los Angeles under the name Beat Royalty. She sends them a demo of the song Do For Love and in the summer of 2008 this leads to a two week stint at the duo's studio to record her debut album. In this period the singer performs at festivals like the Amsterdam Uitmarkt, North Sea Jazz Around Town and Metropolis (both in Rotterdam). In October 2008 her first solo album, Yellow Brick Road, is released. Most of the songs were written with bassist Robert Pronk. The title is taken from the musical The Wiz (1978), the remake of The Wizard Of Oz, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Do For Love is the first single off the album. Starke's performance in the popular TV talk show De Wereld Draait Door is such a success that the American jazz label Blue Note offers her a long-term contract.

Giovanca

2009

In January the TV news show Nova devotes attention to the singer's breakthrough. In the same month she performs at the Groningen Noorderslag festival. A month later Sabrina Starke travels to New York for a number of songwriter sessions with producer and songwriter Billy Mann (Pink, Céline Dion, Carole King, Joss Stone and Mary J. Blige) and his Blue Note team. She writes two new songs: Home Is You (with Pete Wallace and Lisa Green) and A Woman's Gonna Try (with Pete Wallace and Billy Mann). Both songs are recorded for the American edition of Yellow Brick Road, which is released on 5 June. The release of the album is preceded by the single A Woman's Gonna Try on 29 May. Starke performs at a number of festivals, including IJAZZ, Parkpop and the North Sea Jazz Festival. In November Sabrina Starke's album Yellow Brick Road is the winner of the third Edison Jazzism Publieksprijs, a readers' award initiated by the Edison Stichting (the Dutch Grammys) and the magazine Jazzism. The CD attains the gold disc status.

2010

Starke records her second album, Bags & Suitcases (October), in Florida with producer Pete Wallace (Pink, Michael Bolton, Herbie Hancock). The songs on the album are more folky than on her debut, and focus more on her guitar playing. 'The content is very well wrought, with an impressive layered structure,' writes music magazine Oor about her lyrics in its November issue. On 14 October the singer starts her theater tour From The Root To The Soul, a musical show telling the story of her love for music and her influences. 'A journey starting with my birth in Surinam and ending in the here and now.'

Photos Sabrina Starke

Audio/Video Sabrina Starke

Video Sabrina Starke