Count to Ten – Tina Dico

Tina Dico
"Count to Ten" (mp3)
from "Count to Ten"
(Defend Music Inc.)

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Tina Dico isn’t afraid to admit that a wildly successful career in music wasn’t something she’d planned. “I never imagined I was going to be a musician,” says the Danish born, British-based superstar. “It was way too personal. It was more like a secret sort of meditation.” Thankfully, Tina hasn’t kept her songwriting or vocal talents a secret – in fact, on her newest album Count toTen, Tina’s proving she’s got nothing to hide.

Already No.1 and Platinum in Denmark, Count to Ten features eleven sumptuous, rocking songs written and performed by Tina, who also co-produced the album with long-time sidekick Dennis Ahlgren. Mixed by George Tandero in London, this new album is a fine summation of what Tina is really all about.

Filled with an emotional intensity (and complexity) that’s both raw and moving, Tina Dico’s sensitive voice sounds more vibrant than ever on her latest release, as she delivers her introspective songs with shimmering power and grace. “Music has always been a very big and mysterious part of my life,” she explains. “It’s definitely my way to feel alive. It feels like you can take the whole world and bring it into your body. It’s fair to say that I found my calling.” And with her own label, four studio albums,
multi-platinum status in her native country and a Danish Music Award, and international success with Zero 7, it’s hard to disagree.

Music comes naturally for Tina Dico, who understands the importance of hard work and moxie. While studying at the Danish Royal College of Music, Tina assembled a band, and her song “Your Waste Of Time” became a hit. Record companies came knocking and Tina signed with a couple before growing mpatient and starting her own label, Finest Gramophone, to release her first album. Still only 23, she acquired a publishing deal and moved to England. While she continued working on her own music, Tina met new people, did some co-writing and became something of a songwriting pen for hire.

Back in Denmark, Tina released her second album of original songs, the stripped-back and paired-down Notes, which, as she explains, “exploded in my face.” Notes won the Danish Music Award for Best Songwriter and the highly coveted Danish Music Critics Award for Best Composer. “It wasn’t a mainstream album,” she says. “It was without promo, without radio airplay. It succeeded through people recommending it to each other.”

Meanwhile, in England, Tina had put down vocals on two tracks on Zero 7’s acclaimed second album When It Falls – “Home” and “The Space Between” – both hailed as modern reboots of Joni Mitchell’s sunshine folk. That done, she set off round the world with the electronic duo, playing the enormo-domes of the UK and the US. “What a dream,” she says. “To be able to tour for the first time at that level and play the biggest venues, sold out gigs everywhere… amazing.”

2005 saw Tina album Number Three – In The Red – get released in Denmark where it promptly shot to the top of the charts, whizzing past U2 and Coldplay as it did so. In The Red was released in the US and UK in 2006: a terrific record of emotional honesty, finely wrought tunes and stadium-sized choruses.

For the girl who never dreamed of being a musician, Tina Dico knows that her career is proof that dreams can come true. “I guess it is quite unusual to start your own label when you’re 23 and release your first album in the States when you’re 27,” she muses.

Count to Ten is proof that the “unusual” path Tina’s life has traveled isn’t something she takes for granted. With an ethereal voice, Tina’s songs celebrate life’s struggles and the challenges she faces as a musician with emotional depth and personal confessions. While the personal and private nature of her music might have been a secret when Tina Dico was younger, it’s exactly what makes her latest album a mesmerizing triumph. The graceful tenor of Tina’s voice perfectly showcases her contemplative lyrics, giving Count to Ten its distinctly honest sound and unforgettably true spirit.