Gorgeous piano, lush strings, and a fearlessly intimate vocal. Songs about love, humanity, metamorphosis … Recommended if you like: Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, Norah Jones, Sarah McLachlan, Peter Gabriel

At just eight years of age, Melissa Axel was writing songs about the bittersweet journey of life, love, struggle, and inspiration—and not much has changed since. The piano-driven singer/songwriter studied at Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music and went on to earn her master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Arts from Nova Southeastern University. In 2008 and 2009, she was awarded scholarships to participate in songwriting and world music workshops hosted in the UK by the WOMAD Foundation (World of Music, Arts and Dance) created by Peter Gabriel in 1980.

Often accompanied on tuba by frequent collaborator James Jacoby, she has performed everywhere from the South Florida heat to the cool of Iceland, the frenzy of New York to the peaceful Swedish seaside, and award-winning Denver venues like Dazzle and Swallow Hill in Colorado, where Axel now makes her home. Through WOMAD, she has shared the stage with Gabriel collaborators N’Faly Kouyaté (Dunyakan, Afro Celt Sound System), Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara (Robert Plant, Festival in the Desert), and Andy White (ALT, Big Blue Ball), co-writing “Every Place Is Home” with White in summer 2009.

Produced by Justin Peacock (recording/broadcast credits include Indigo Girls, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Zero 7), Axel’s 2011 full-length debut represents an expansive leap forward from her pensive 5-song pre-release EP Transition. The album features a wealth of talent, including Tom Hagerman of DeVotchKa, Mackenzie Gault of Flobots, and string arrangements by award-winning composer Matthew Nicholl and international peace ambassador Kailin Yong, recipient of the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin.

Powerful yet subtle, comforting yet complex, Melissa Axel’s music gives voice to the diverse emotional spectrum connecting us all.