Mark Steiner
Mark Steiner Kubrick Tomorrow, 11pm
In any other industry, 39-year-old Mark Steiner would probably be a drunken low life, staggering his way through the backwaters of lower Manhattan with a glass of bourbon in his hand. In the music business, however, his slurred baritone and lovelorn lyrics draw comparisons to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave.
Tomorrow night, the lounge noir artist will take up his electric guitar at Kubrick in Yau Ma Tei to sing ballads of 'the pain of love and lack thereof'. Local indie group, Rachel Believes in Me, opens.
'I reckon that anyone who enjoys listening to pop or soft rock in general should probably stay home that evening,' Steiner says. 'And if you've never felt heartache, spend a night in Macau.'
Known as the 'Norwegian-American' singer, Steiner (left) was born and brought up in New York City before fleeing to Oslo, Norway, after the September 11, 2001, attacks. His early music style was a mix of punk and goth, as evident during his days as the frontman of Piker Ryan's Folly, a group inspired by vagrants of the 19th century (think Gangs of New York).
After moving to Norway, Steiner says, his song delivery became noticeably more subdued and existential, although he retained his 'whiskey-and-cigarette' vocals. He spent years jamming with musicians from all around the world, such as ex-Swans Michael Gira, Devendra Banhart and Madrugada. In 2007, Steiner debuted with his current band, the Fallen Birds, and released an LP called Fallen Birds, which contains six brooding, reverb-heavy songs including Drunk, Cigarettes and Nisj.
Nowadays, Steiner shuffles between Oslo and New York City, making pit stops in as many new cities and venues as he can. And everywhere he goes, he tries to jam (and sometimes record) with local musicians. During last year's tour to Australia, for instance, Steiner played with a different local musician almost every night.
'I seem to have developed an affinity for going to places to play gigs where no one else I know has gone to play before. Sometimes I wonder whether I travel as an excuse to play music, or vice versa.'
But he has yet to perform in Asia, where musical leanings favour exuberant pop over experimental rock, and may leave Steiner more puzzled than inspired.
'I've been reading about the Canto-pop phenomenon. Not quite sure what to make of it yet.'
To prepare for his set at Kubrick, he has also been working on his falsetto. 'I was hoping to wrangle a local female singer for some duets, but the woman I had in mind is no longer able to play the gig,' he says. 'So I'll be playing electric guitar and singing as a man and, at times, a woman.'
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