About

An immediate contender for the hearts of discerning indie music fans around the world, British-born, New York-based alt-pop singer/songwriter/composer Chris Hicken, better known to his growing legion of fans as Cantinero, entered the highly competitive fray in 2004 with Championship Boxing, his critically acclaimed Artemis/V2 Records debut. British music bible Q magazine praised it as "a winning fusion of strummed acoustics and brawny ballads" with "deliciously poignant lyrics." The album hit the Top 40 on Amazon.com and top 20 at CMJ/Triple AAA Radio, was featured on National Public Radio's "All Songs Considered" and an 11-minute special on NPR's “WeekendEdition”. The video for single “Make Me An Offer” received multiple spins on MTV.

Taking the gloves off once again, Better For The Metaphor is a witty and incisive pop affair that displays the multi-talented Hicken's talent for keenly observed insights as he cleverly chronicles the complicated world around him. Better for the Metaphor offers takes on such provocative themes as the American sense of entitlement ("Go Getter"), the manufactured culture of fear ("Safe"), and the dangers of trumpeting one's rigid ideology ("My House"). Hicken also serves up a 50s style duet on the ambivalence of the Universe ("Goodbye Life") and even a sing-songy ditty about using anti-depressants to make the pain of life go away ("Medicated").

Hicken, who also produced the album, layers his soulful tenor atop a rich blend of acoustic and Spanish guitars, piano, strings, bassoon, and random snatches of sound he's been collecting since he began to write the album in September 2005, when he relocated from Manhattan to a secluded log cabin in the Catskill Mountains. He recorded the album over a 12-month period with the help of a host of top musicians, whose previous employers had included: Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Lambchop and Britney Spears.

 About Chris Hicken: A native of Birmingham, England, Hicken arrived in America in 1993 with the Alternative-Rock group Bigmouth. When the group dissolved, Hicken spent seven years working as a bartender in New York City's East Village (hence the moniker "Cantinero," a nickname bestowed on him by a Spanish co-worker) before deciding to give music another try. 15 of his songs are featured in the hit PBS TV series Roadtrip Nation. Hicken has worked with Blue Man Group and he was the only outside artist opening for Steve Earle on his recent tour.  Hicken is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. . 

Q & A

Why a musician?

I was not that successful at school (due in part to dyslexia, undiagnosed at the time). I sat in on a guitar lesson when I was 14, which led me to borrow a guitar from a French teacher. No sooner had I learnt 3 chords I wrote my first song. It seemed very natural to me, something I could be good at. Very quickly it became all I wanted to do.

Why America?

I had failed to realize the dream, and was living in a state of ennui in Birmingham, UK. The guitar player in my band, who was desperate to escape his surroundings, flew to New York City to stay with a friend. Whilst there, he managed to book the band some shows, including one at CBGBs. We were very well received, and that, coupled with the excitement of being in NYC, completely dissolved any misgivings I had had before boarding the plane to the US in April 1993. When a door opens, you walk through it.

Why Cantinero?

I bartended in NYC for several years after the band ran its course. An Ecuadorian workmate nicknamed me Cantinero, which is Spanish for bartender. When I re-entered the fray as a musician, I thought it would be a great name to hide behind.

What makes your music worth listening to?

I believe that life is in the editing, that not every thought or idea is a good one. I apply this principle to my work. I treat each song I write and record as if it were its own movie, chipping away for sometimes months until the song and sound is fully realized. If it doesn’t stand up, then I throw it away. It’s all about the song.

Describe your music for us.

Lovingly crafted Alt Pop. Incisive and hummable pop songs set to live instrumentation with subtle electronic and organic textures.

Why did you leave New York City and move to the Catskills?

I had been staying with a friend in upstate New York, and found it to be a good environment for writing. This prompted a move to a secluded log cabin where over a 6-month period I wrote and demoed 20 songs. The solitude acted like a sweat lodge, enabling a focus I had never experienced before, and the music poured right out of me. I then spent a whole year recording, locked away with an engineer and a host of musicians. When it came time to go back to the city, I realized I didn’t want to go. So we stayed.

Why Better For The Metaphor?

It was a placeholder lyric in the song “Selfish.” When I first sing a song, I usually have very few lines written, so when I demo, I rely on my stream of consciousness. This can often lead to some interesting phrases that I end up keeping because I like the way they sound. Better For The Metaphor was one of those phrases. What does it mean? It means different things at different times.

Musical Influences

The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Talking Heads, The Smiths, Boards of Canada, Granddaddy, The High Llamas. 

>Who do people say you sound like?

Rufus Wainright, Andrew Bird, The Beatles, The Shins, The Kinks, Crowded House, Squeeze, XTC, Massive Attack and Elvis Costello…it’s a very long list.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Gonzaels - Solo piano, Emily Haines, Ungdomskulen, Cesaria Avora, The Bird and the Bee.  

Likes and Dislikes.

Likes:     People, food, football, politics, Mad Men, country air. 
Dislikes: People, ignorance, narcissism, working and not working.

What’s next?

I don’t know. Do we ever?