Jaimi Faulkner has a reputation as gifted songwriter, exciting live performer and accomplished musician, and it’s a reputation that’s well deserved. Brought up on a diet rich in Blues, Country and Folk music, Jaimi’s music logically reflects these genres, but with a quality and voice that is uniquely his own.

It’s been a sure and steady rise on the Australian music scene for this likeable young performer, his talents having had time to develop and mature naturally since the 2004 release of his impressive debut, Last Light at age 21.

That album, featuring Aria Award winners Mia Dyson and Chris Wilson, debuted at No. 5 on the Australian Rhythms Magazine Charts where it held its position for 4 months, and also attracted some strong reviews and airplay support from Triple J’s Roots & All, PBS and 3RRR in particular.

Jaimi spent 2005 touring to promote Last Light, honing his skills and building audiences and word of mouth around Australia. These efforts paid off well; Jaimi was invited to support his favourite songwriter Chris Whitley (USA), and to perform at Port Fairy, Apollo Bay, Queenscliff and Wangaratta Festivals on the back of the growing grassroots buzz.

In December 2006, Jaimi Faulkner followed up his debut with the soulful EP Back To You.   Again, radio support was strong; the highlight being singles Roll Tumble Smuggle & Stumble and Coming Home to Your Love debuting at #3 and #4 on the Triple J Unearthed Charts.

Faulkner hit both international and local highways in 2007, playing more than 200 shows. These included performances at the American Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale Mississippi, playing with the legendary Big Jack Johnson, and a tour of Europe, where he performed in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
Towards the end of 2007 Jaimi and London based producer Andy Strange, (INXS, Robbie Williams, Diesel etc) whom he met through mutual friend and fellow performer Liam Gerner, decamped to the hills of Spain, eating Tapas, drinking wine and writing songs, with one of them, My Dear Girl appearing on Kiss & Ride.

In 2008, Jaimi won the prestigious Australian Blues/Roots Performer of the Year (band category) and was awarded with the opportunity to represent Australia in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.  Jaimi and band headed to the United States to perform alongside some of the world’s top Blues/Roots performers, scoring a mention in Blues Revue Magazine, as one of the ‘hot power trios’ of the Challenge.  Faulkner then went on to tour Europe for the second time in as many years, again visiting Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany before heading home to take up invitations to support Chris Isaak and Jeff Martin (The Tea Party) on their Australian tours.

January 2009 saw Jaimi hit the studio to work on his new studio album, Kiss & Ride.  Recorded over three months with ARIA award winning engineer Lloyd Barratt (Mia Dyson) at Melbourne’s Sound Park Studios,  Kiss & Ride features the addition of backing vocal harmonies and melodies not apparent on previous releases, and the sound of soul music also added into the mix.

The sounds of folk and blues influences are a feature on Kiss & Ride, but listeners will also hear music inspired from the time Jaimi spent in Memphis, visiting Stax Records and immersing himself in the sounds and flavours of soul music.  Jaimi was also lucky enough to meet the legendary soul singer, Reverend Al Green at his Full Tabernacle Gospel Church. The results of this baptism into soul are a success; Jaimi’s voice is well suited for the raw soul grooves that you hear in Light A Candle.

The songs on Kiss & Ride relate to themes of love, separation and the highs and lows of a life lived on the road. Album opener Down is about conflict a musician can feel following often competing dreams of success and happiness in their professional and personal lives.

Highway Life penned in Clarksdale Mississippi; just prior to Jaimi going out to perform with ‘Big Jack Johnson’ in a juke joint called Reds rightly captures the sounds of the south with its use of slide guitar and captures the joy of an artist doing what he loves.

Crescent City, written in New Orleans, and Dublin Girl, written in Margaret River, both relate to lovers separated by distance. Return, the most intimate track on the album with Jaimi performing solo with his Dobro, asks the question ‘if I was to travel across the seas, would you be there for me when I return?’

Five Flights Up written while Jaimi was in Paris and inspired by Steve Earle features a distinct country feel and carries on the theme of love. Some of Jaimi’s favourite earlier tracks are revisited on Kiss & Ride; with Shame and Back To You given new leases on life on the album, while I’ve Been Waiting Some Time, a long time live favourite, makes its first appearance on a release.

The album features a standout band; Daniel Farrugia (The Bamboos) on drums, Tim Keegan (Liz Stringer Band) on double and electric bass, Berish Bilander (Vika & Linda Bull) on Hammond organ and piano, plus special guest appearances from Kylie Auldist, Jason Heerah (Josh Owen/Australia’s Got Talent), Liz Stringer, John Bedggood (Bernard Fanning) and Stephen Grant (C.W. Stoneking)

Kiss & Ride sees Jaimi Faulkner continue his rise on the Australian music scene, building on from the last few years work, releasing his finest offering to date.