Susan Raven is a 21st Century troubadour with a rich and haunting voice. Her acclaimed debut album, Glittering Cities, is a cinematic journey from start to finish, an emotion-fired collection of majestic songcraft with strong vocal performances that fall somewhere between Grace Slick, Sinead O'Connor and The Cranberries.

The arrangements soar, ranging from multi-layered synth programs over dance grooves through to a pure acoustic and orchestral approach. Ethereal instrumentation and inspired performances from, among others, members of the Peter Gabriel and Salif Keita bands, perfectly establish the sonic aura around her thought-provoking lyrics.

Susan Raven: "I write all my songs on a vintage Martin 12-string guitar. It is an entire band in one instrument, the harmonics and drones that spin out from the strumming suggest many of the overdubs that follow. I take a song and hone it until the base-metal turns to gold. I write lyrics to trigger emotions, memories and inspiration in people and as my craft has matured, so a strong individual sound has emerged. My music has been variously described as Cosmic World Fusion, Space Rock and Ethno-Pop." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.