The collaboration between vocalist Michael Kiske (Helloween, Place Vendome) and American singer Amanda Somerville was born as a concept put together thanks to the input of Frontiers Records President Serafino Perugino.
“I did a duet with a female singer on ‘Breath In Water’ by Indigo Dying”, explains Michael Kiske. “It was so nice that he offered me a chance to make an album of all duet songs with a famous female singer.”
This exciting album sees Mat Sinner (Primal Fear, Sinner) and Magnus Karlsson (Starbreaker, Primal Fear) handling most of the songwriting (with more contributions from Sander Gommans formerly of After Forever and Amanda Sormeville herself), with Sinner overseeing the production & mix at various recording studios in Europe.
“When Mat Sinner asked me if I wanted to be the “other half” of the face of the album, I was very honored and quite looking forward to working more closely with Michael Kiske” tells Amanda. “We’d both been involved in various projects over the years together, such as Aina and Avantasia, but it was always through third parties and we didn’t sing together like we do here. It’s not for nothing that Michael’s a legend in the scene. He’s got a very unique voice, a special delivery of his performance and is a wonderful person on top of it all. This has been a great experience all across the board!”.
Two music videos were filmed for the songs “Silence“ and “If I Had A Wish” in Nurnberg, Germany. The project has released the debut album KISKE/SOMERVILLE on September 24, 2010.
The second Kiske/Somerville album entitled CITY OF HEROES was released on April 17, 2015. The album once again features bassist Mat Sinner in a songwriting partnership with guitarist Magnus Karlsson, with one song written by Amanda Somerville and Sander Gommans. Magnus Karlsson is also in charge of the keyboards, while Veronika Lukesova is the drummer on the album.
Two music videos were filmed for the songs “City Of Heroes” and “Walk On Water“.