Ross Jennings (singer)

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Ross Jennings
Ross Jennings at the Euroblast Festival in 2015.
Ross Jennings at the Euroblast Festival in 2015.
Background information
Birth nameRoss William Jennings
Born (1984-02-07) 7 February 1984 (age 38)
OriginSalisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
GenresProgressive metal, Progressive rock, Alt-country, Progressive pop, Pop rock
Years active2004–present
LabelsSensory Records, Inside Out Music, Frontiers Records, Graphite Records
Associated actsHaken, Novena, Redados, Mike Portnoy, Nick D'Virgilio, Neal Morse

Ross William Jennings (7 February 1984) is a British progressive metal vocalist, most known for being a founding member and the lead vocalist of the bands Haken and Novena.[1] As of 2020, he has released six albums with Haken (Aquarius, Visions, The Mountain, Affinity, Vector and Virus),[2] one with Novena (Eleventh Hour),[3] three with Redados (Too Tired for Sleep, One Way Conversations and Turbo Torture: Train Like Dogs...Ride Like Gods)[4] and one solo album (A Shadow of My Future Self).[5][6]

Jennings was born on 7 February 1984 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and moved to Sutton, London at an early age.[7] His first experience with music was being taken to classical concerts which sparked little passion in him. He slowly grew to enjoy other genres alongside the music his father would play, mainly Pink Floyd and Crosby, Stills & Nash. This would prompt him to take short guitar lessons at age eight. At age sixteen, he played became a rhythm guitarist in a local band called Lost Child where he would play covers of popular bands at the time like Radiohead at bars in Croydon. He began singing as a hobby at karaoke bars and is completely self-taught.[8]

Redados[]

Redados was a project formed by Jennings along with Roland Townson and Neil Bond in 2005.[9] The trio would meet up every week in a converted chicken battery barn to jam and record.[4] The band would later release two studio albums under the titles of Too Tired for Sleep (2009) and One Way Conversations (2010). The band would go on to perform live turbo training events with their music.[10] In light of their local success, the band would release their third album, Turbo Torture: Train Like Dogs...Ride Like Gods (2012), in the form of a full workout routine.[11]

Haken[]

Main article: Haken (band)

Haken was formed by Jennings along with school friends Matthew Marshall, and Richard Henshall in 2004. Jennings originally played guitar in the band along with Marshall and Henshall but parted ways with the two to continue his studies at university. He would rejoin the band in 2007 as they couldn't find the singer they wanted for their first demo and asked Jennings to return as solely a vocalist.[8] The sextet put together a self-titled, two-song demo in 2007,[12] followed by an upgraded six-song demo in 2008 called "Enter the 5th Dimension."[13] Jennings would go on to pen the stories and lyrics for the band's first two albums, Aquarius and Visions. by himself.[14]

In 2017, Jennings would go on to perform with Haken and Mike Portnoy performing Dream Theater's Twelve-step Suite as well as other Portnoy-era Dream Theater songs.

Novena[]

Novena was originally formed by Harrison White, Matt "Moat" Lowe, Dan Thornton and Cameron Spence after meeting at University in 2013. The quartet then went on to acquire Jennings and Gareth Mason as their vocalists. With this final 6-piece line-up, the band went on to release Secondary Genesis in 2016 and signed with Frontiers Records to release Eleventh Hour in 2020 as well as Live from Home and The Stopped Clock in 2021.[3]

A Shadow of My Future Self[]

Main article: A Shadow of My Future Self

On 3 October 2020, Jennings announced on Instagram that he is working on a solo album.[15] He signed with Graphite Records and later announced it to be called A Shadow of my Future Self in June 2021 with the release of the album's first single, "Words We Can't Unsay"[16] The album released on 19 November 2021. Unlike his more well-known Progressive music, Jennings' solo record follows a much more mainstream approach with Jennings directly citing Styx, Coldplay and Porcupine Tree as references.[17][18] Subsequent singles "Grounded," "Violet," "Feelings," "Catcher in the Rye," and "Rocket Science" were released monthly until the albums release.[19]

In January 2021, Jennings released Acoustic Shadows (Live at AfterLive Music), a recording of a paid livestream he did in July 2020 to promote the album, without warning as a paid downloadable file on his website.[20] The album was added to streaming services that same week.[21][22]

On 31 December 2021, Jennings announced on Instagram page that a follow-up album was in the works, alongside a seventh Haken album.[23]

D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings[]

The idea for D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings was initially brainstormed in late 2020 by Neal Morse, who wanted to write an album of mellower songs, compared to that of his other works with Transatlantic and Spock's Beard. He went on to enlist former Spock's Beard bandmate Nick D'Virgilio to provide harmonic vocals and drums. Jennings was later invited to join after interviewing Mike Portnoy on The Absolute Universe. He was initially invited to just provide vocals, but contributed guitar and songwriting after Morse became aware of Jennings' guitar skill and then upcoming solo album.[24]

In September 2021, it was announced that D'Virgilio, Morse and Jennings were writing an album together called Troika, scheduled to be released in 2022.[25] The album's first single "Julia" was released 3 December 2021.[26] This was followed by the singles "Everything I Am" on 11 January 2022 and "You Set My Soul On Fire" on 8 February 2022.[27][28]

Collaborations and other works[]

In 2018, Jennings provided vocals on the song "Reveal" on the album Illusion of Choice by Yossi Sassi.[29]

Jennings' Haken bandmate Richard Henshall released The Cocoon on 9 August 2019 which Jennings provided vocals for the album's single "Twisted Shadows".[30]

On 30 July 2020, Jennings joined Derrick Schneider in a cover of the song "Faithfully" by Journey in which he provided vocals. He was also joined by Vikram Shankar, who provided keyboards and piano on A Shadow of My Future Self.

On 19 December 2020, Jennings worked with Simen Sandnes, Filippo Rosati, Arzene, Bringsli, Thrailkill and Jogan J. Bakken, together under the name of "Simen Sandnes and Friends with Benefits" in a cover of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."[31] Sandnes would later go on to perform drums on A Shadow of My Future Self. Jennings would return the following year with Simen Sandnes and Friends with Benefits, providing vocals for their cover of Christmas carol "O Holy Night."[32]

In 2021, Jennings provided vocals on the song "Daggers and Cloak" on the album Subjects by Scale the Summit.[29]

In December 2021, Jennings was announced to be providing vocals on the album Revel in Time by Star One.[33] On 17 December 2021 the song "Prescient" was released featuring Jennings on vocals.[34]

On 24 January 2022 the song "Here Be Dragons" was released by Arzene, co-written and performed by Jennings.[35]

Personal life[]

Jennings married his wife Yulia on 30 July 2010 and on 1 August 2021 announced that he became a father.[36][37] Outside of music, Jennings is a freelance photographer. He uses a Nikon camera.[38][8]

Discography[]

Solo[]

With Redados[]

  • Too Tired for Sleep (2009)
  • One Way Conversations (2010)
  • Turbo Torture: Train Like Dogs...Ride Like Gods (2012)

With Haken[]

With Novena[]

  • Secondary Genesis (2016)
  • Eleventh Hour (2020)
  • Live from Home (2021)
  • The Stopped Clock (2021)

With D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings[]

Guest performances[]

References[]

  1. ^ Hatton, Thomas (2021-07-16). "Interview with Ross Jennings (Haken, Novena) about new solo record". Proglodytes. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  2. ^ "HAKEN - Music". Haken. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  3. ^ a b "Novena". Spotify. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  4. ^ a b "REDADOS". REDADOS. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  5. ^ Mclennan, Sean (2021-08-17). "News: Haken's Ross Jennings Releases New Video Single". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 2021-11-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "Ross Jennings discography - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  7. ^ "About". Ross Jennings - Official Website. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  8. ^ a b c A Conversation with Ross Jennings | The Daily Doug (Episode 298), retrieved 2022-01-04
  9. ^ "The Band". 2014-06-06. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  10. ^ "The Great Rock Workout". 2014-06-06. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  11. ^ "Turbo Torture: Train Like Dogs...Ride Like Gods (Exclusive Bandcamp Extended Edition), by REDADOS". REDADOS. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  12. ^ "Haken (2) - Souls / Snow". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  13. ^ "Enter The 5th Dimension, by HAKEN". HAKEN. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  14. ^ Mind, The Prog (2016-04-14). "An Interview with Ross Jennings". The PROG Mind. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  15. ^ "Instagram post by ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ • Oct 3, 2020 at 4:06pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  16. ^ "Ross Jennings | Graphite Records". Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  17. ^ BraveWords. "Between A Rock And A Prog Place: HAKEN's ROSS JENNINGS – "I'm Not Listening To An Awful Lot Of Modern Prog Bands These Days To Be Honest"". bravewords.com. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  18. ^ Ewing, Jerry (2021-09-17). "Ross Jennings gets animated in new video for Feelings". loudersound. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  19. ^ "MIKE PORTNOY'S SHATTERED FORTRESS (US/UK/MEX) |" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  20. ^ "Ross Jennings - Ross Jennings - 'Acoustic Shadows (Live at AfterLive Music)'". Ross Jennings. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  21. ^ Acoustic Shadows (Live at AfterLive Music), 2022-01-28, retrieved 2022-01-28
  22. ^ "https://twitter.com/rosswjennings/status/1487002917072740354". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-01-28. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  23. ^ "ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram | Ghostarchive". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  24. ^ D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings - The Troika Interview Part 1, retrieved 2022-01-21
  25. ^ Prog (2021-09-15). "D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings team up for 2022 album release". loudersound. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  26. ^ D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings - Julia (OFFICIAL VIDEO), retrieved 2021-12-14
  27. ^ Ewingpublished, Jerry (2022-01-11). "D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings release video for uplifting new single Everything I Am". loudersound. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  28. ^ Ewingpublished, Jerry (2022-02-08). "D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings release video for gentle new single You Set My Soul On Fire". loudersound. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  29. ^ a b "Ross Jennings". Spotify. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  30. ^ then, Dream Theater Since; Curiosity, He Has Developed a Strong Musical; Taste, Is Now a Music-Lover with Eclectic; To, Always Eager to Share His Experience with Anyone Willing (2019-08-25). "Richard Henshall - The Cocoon". The Progspace. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  31. ^ Simen Sandnes and Friends with Benefits - All I Want for Christmas is You, retrieved 2021-11-21
  32. ^ Simen Sandnes and Friends with Benefits - Oh Holy Night, retrieved 2021-12-23
  33. ^ "https://twitter.com/rosswjennings/status/1467164257640931331". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-12-04. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  34. ^ Star One – Prescient (ft Micheal Mills, Ross Jennings), retrieved 2022-01-19
  35. ^ "ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram | Ghostarchive". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  36. ^ "Archiving Instagram profile". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  37. ^ "Archiving Instagram profile". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  38. ^ "ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram | Ghostarchive". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
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