Amber Arcades is the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

of Annelotte de Graaf (born 15 December 1988), a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

singer-songwriter from

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Biography

De Graaf holds a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

in law, and worked as an assistant for

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s tribunals at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

; 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 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 i ...

, 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 drummer, record producer and songwriter. He has played with various artists, including Pearl Jam, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, David Bowie, Tori Amos, Morrissey, The Wallflow ...

). 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 South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, 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 l ...

, 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 women guitarists Heavenly Recordings artists 21st-century Dutch women singers 21st-century Dutch guitarists 21st-century Dutch women guitarists {{Netherlands-musician-stub