Gay singer songwriter Derek Bishop released his debut full-length album Resistance is Beautiful in July 2011. Producer Jay Braun, notable for his work with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, collaborated with Bishop on the twelve tracks. Composed and written by Bishop, the album has hints of Fiona Apple, Ben Folds, and Mika. But Derek also swirls in sounds from other eras such as Brill Building, Tin Pan Alley, Beach Boys, and even a bit of old-time Broadway.

The extent of his music reaches beyond its toe-tapping, finger-snapping beats. His songs emit both light and darkness, revealing a core of melancholic haunting lyrics within luminous exteriors. Bishop artfully tells his stories with literary panache, creative imagery, and raw honesty. Pulling deep into his personal experiences, one highlight includes Harvey with its saloon-style arrangement and genuine performance. The song speaks to resisting who we are and how that struggle shapes us - in this case, Bishop’s emergence out of the closet. Through relatable and candid songwriting, he reflects on his current musical endeavors in the tune Pass Me By that talks about breaking out of the status quo to refresh and reinvent
one’s self.

Bishop delves further, taking chances with his music by altering structure and sound as well as integrating vintage keyboards, circus-like electronics, and a suitcase full of percussion. The track See You Free exemplifies this technique with its time and key shifts. The song features Wurlitzer, percussion, and guitar then shifts to a synthesized-symphonic sound. He reveals, “In the middle of a good rocking song, I’ll switch gears and tempo, replacing the guitar, bass and drums with sounds of mellotrons, harpsichords, and orchestra percussion. Just when you get a feel for where the song is headed, it reinvents itself all over again. Yet these changes aren’t contrived; just like the roller-coaster of feelings one goes through in the span of a relationship, these surprising changes work within the lyrical and emotional center of the song.”

The album Resistance is Beautiful is available on iTunes, www.derekbishop.net, and Amazon.com. Fans can follow him on multiple social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The You Tube video for his first single The Last Word features the newsboy-capped Bishop in rockin’ black leather pants in a nod to his juxtaposed musical style. He plans to perform live throughout the East Coast starting with a CD release show in New York City on August 18th at Pianos in the Lower East Side. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.