Following the release of his debut album Six String Suicide, Australian born singer-songwriter Pete Ross is on the verge of releasing two brand new records. The first is a solo acoustic album recorded in Milan and mixed in LA, which will be released in November 2010 on French Label Beast Records and features Ross in a dark, provocative mood. The second album recorded with The Paesanos, will have a more country rock & roll flavour and is due to be released through Halidon Records in early 2011.

You can call him a troubadour, soul-searcher or a journeyman, but there’s no denying that Ross is living the dream of touring the world and playing his music. Since packing his kit and relocating to Europe in 2008, the former guitarist from highly popular country alt-rockers, Dan Brodie & The Broken Arrows, has been touring extensively across the globe. The intense schedule has included eight tours in France and Italy, a return album tour in Australia in 2009 and a recently completed 20 date tour of USA crossing five southern states in as many days.

It seems Ross inherited his wandering spirit from his Italian father, Peter Ciani. An iconic 1950s pop star, Ciani emigrated to Australia in 1963 and made history when he released the first Australian disc sung in Italian and exported worldwide through EMI records. Now mirroring his father’s footsteps, Ross has completed the passage back to Italy and in 2009 released his debut album through Halidon Music.

Ross’s songwriting has a brooding contemplative tone, which combines powerful storytelling and dark rich vocals, encased in an extraordinarily well-produced folk/country/rock styling. The inspiration to record Six String Suicide (released in Australia through MGM) and later relocate to Italy first came in 2005 when Ross spent three months in Sicily discovering his roots, to which he pays respect by recording the traditional Sicilian folk song Sciuri Sciuri. The album includes versions of Bob Dylan’s “Man In The Long Black Coat ”and Lee Hazlewood’s “Forget Marie” as well as a collaboration with his father on the track “A Thousand Miles Away”.

In 2008 at the Tamworth Country Music Festival (Australia) Ross was one of two finalists nominated for the Aristocrat Country Entertainer of the Year, as well as a finalist at the 42nd annual CCMA song-writing awards. In 2009 he made 3 appearances on Italy’s RAI TV (International) and was awarded runner-up for album of the year on Bay Fm (Byron Bay). In July 2010 Pete Ross and The Paesanos performed at Mirande, France's largest country music festival.

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