Bio

Jan Hellriegel’s love affair with music started when she learned classical piano as a child, and as a teenager she took vocal coaching from Dame Sister Mary Leo, whose protégés included Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

Her first foray into recording was with her brother Rob's band Working With Walt, before forming all-girl indie pop-rock band Cassandra's Ears at Otago University. They developed a strong following, toured relentlessly and released two self-funded EPs before disbanding in 1989.

Hellriegel signed to Warner Music NZ as a solo artist in 1990. Significantly, she was their first local signing and at the time the first NZ female singer/songwriter to be picked up by a major for a full development deal.

Warner brought US songwriter JD Souther down to Auckland twice to work on material with Hellriegel but only two tracks resulted from these sessions, and the album was eventually completed with producers Nick Morgan and Don McGlashan at Phil Rudd’s (AC/DC) Mountain Road farmhouse studio in early 1991.

In late 1992, Hellriegel’s debut solo album was released by Warner. The single The Way I Feel reached number 2, and two more singles went into the Top Ten.

That year Hellriegel supported David Byrne, and also opened for The Cure on their New Zealand tour.

Picked up by Warner Music Australia, Hellriegel moved to Melbourne in 1994, where she was given a hands-off deal to work on a second studio album.

The album Tremble emerged in 1995 to critical acclaim in NZ and Australia. It shifted as many units as the first, but wasn’t the blockbuster the label had hoped for. It was too directional for the public and also, it would seem, for Warner Music.

In 1995 she supported Jeff Buckley on his Australian tour, and the next year Buckley called again to have her on his bill for his next swing through Australasia, which included his phenomenal show at T?maki Makaurau Auckland's St James Theatre on February 9th 1996.

Returning home to NZ, Hellriegel recorded a more poppy release, Sentimental Fool, but things weren’t working out and she left Warner in 1997.

In early 1999, Hellriegel self-released the EP Melusine through Universal distribution, but, becoming a little disillusioned with the business of the music business, took time out to have a family and figure things out a bit.

However, Hellriegel kept writing and performing occasionally and in early 2009 went into Neil Finn’s Roundhead studio with producer Wayne Bell, some of New Zealand’s best players and a healthy budget, emerging later that year with All Grown Up.

Released on her own label Blind Date, All Grown Up was a commercial and critical success, with most New Zealand music writers giving it 5 Stars and key reviewers naming it the local album of the year.

Hellriegel released Lost Songs in May 2013, a collection of previously unreleased tracks and studio demos that had literally been gathering dust in the basement. With that cleared out of her system, she began working on new music with top Auckland producer Wayne Bell and her long-time band: Brett Adams, Mark Hughes and Ben King – and Daniel Denholm, the ARIA/Emmy award-winning Australian composer/producer who produced Tremble.

In 2017 Hellriegel put her knowledge of the music industry, and launched Songbroker Music Publishing against all odds. It is now one the the largest independent publishers in Australasia, representing songwriters covering a myriad of musical styles. Behind the scenes she is also a staunch advocate for artists' rights.

In 2018 she unveiled her most ambitious project to date, Sportsman Of The Year - A Suburban Philosophy; an album package which also included a beautifully produced book with photos and 12 chapters – one for each song. The release of Sportsman of the Year was followed by a successful nationwide tour.

Currently Hellriegel is working on a new project that she hopes will inspire and delight. After Sportsman she thought, "what next…gee, I know I can do this…", so now she has to finish the job. The 'if Not Now, When' tour will give audiences a sneak preview of what is to be unleashed.

Links

• Artist Website
• Facebook Page
• Bandcamp Page