Amber Arcades is the stage name of Annelotte de Graaf (born 15 December 1988), a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

singer-songwriter from

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

Biography

De Graaf holds a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in law, and worked as an assistant for war crimes tribunals at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

; as of 2016 she held a position "assessing the claims of refugees granted asylum in the Netherlands who are seeking to have their families brought over".Amber Arcades: the war crimes expert who funded her album working shop tills
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 20 June 2016 Her music career began when she self-recorded an album in New York City, funded by savings she had amassed since her teenage years. Her output attracted the attention of

Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...

, which released her debut album, ''Fading Lines'', in June 2016. In May 2017, Amber Arcades shared their new ethereal track, "Wouldn’t Even Know" featuring Bill Ryder-Jones. Her second album, ''European Heartbreak'', was released by Heavenly Recordings on 28 September 2018. Amber Arcades started working with producer Ben Greenberg again during the pandemic for her third album. The album, ''Barefoot on Diamond Road'', featured ten songs produced remotely, mainly between Amsterdam (Annelotte de Graaf), Brooklyn (producer Ben Greenberg) and Los Angeles (drummer

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter. Biography Life and career Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drums ...

). Fire Records released ''Barefoot on Diamond Road'' on 10 February 2023. Amber Arcades previewed some of the new songs on a UK tour ahead of the album release, during Independent Venue Week; a seven date tour together with Hater and Thala, two acts who are also on Fire Records. Amber Arcades returns to SXSW, in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, for several showcases. In the Netherlands, Amber Arcades announced a release tour throughout the country, a co-headlining tour with Robin Kester in March and April., followed by a four-date tour through Italy in May. Amber Arcades plays the Lowlands Festival in August, 2023.

Discography

*''Amber Arcades'' EP (2013) *''Patiently'' EP (2015) *''Fading Lines'' (

, 2016) *''Cannonball'' EP (

, 2017) *'' European Heartbreak'' (

, 2018) *'' Barefoot on Diamond Road (

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the la ...

, 2023)

References

1988 births Living people Musicians from Utrecht (city) 21st-century Dutch singers Dutch women singer-songwriters Dutch singer-songwriters Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch guitarists Heavenly Recordings artists 21st-century Dutch women singers 21st-century guitarists 21st-century women guitarists {{Netherlands-musician-stub