"I've always wanted to make music that makes me feel alive, when each beat and cadence exists as an independent, boundless force.  My songs all hold a sense of never taking anything for granted and never holding back on what matters most."  --Gordon Roqué

If you ask Gordon Roqué what his musical background is, he'll tell you that he learned music when he was young while staring out into the ocean for hours and thinking about life.  As strange as this sounds, it exemplifies who he is as an artist.  Exploration and discovery run deep in his life and work.

Having grown up on a tropical island in the South Pacific called American Samoa, Roqué spent many years living along the pulsing rhythms of crashing waves and spending time at the water's edge.  He often let his imagination run free, knowing full well that the horizon can only limit our vision if we let it.  For Roqué, there has always been much more to see.

As a self-taught pianist, the piano became his endless ocean.  Refusing to be limited by what he did not know, he let his ingenuity and a natural musicality run absolutely wild.  The result has been a succession of visceral sounds and textures from a voice that is not afraid to take embrace risks and take chances.

This is substantially evident in the songs from Roque's debut album "Seahorses".  From the dark, uptempo bluesy-ness of "Villain" to the vintage Gypsy pomp of "Mr. Stranger" to the understated and string-laden "Tears In Savannah", an unfailing desire to revel in multiple musical textures is the rule more than the exception.  From an emotional and lyrical standpoint, there is the explosive anger in the fiery song "Fear", the quiet imprisonment in the elegant "The Boy In the Room", and an impossible longing laid to rest in the hidden track "Swirl".  Roque's own heavy losses and proud triumphs give his voice something vital to say.

With his unharnessed instincts as his guide, Gordon Roqué forges an unconventional musical path to a vision and a place that holds far more than any horizon will ever hide.

© 2010 Gordon Roqué All Rights Reserved.