SongVault Artist Profile

The music of Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter, Alex Radus, is difficult to describe in conventional genre terms. Coming from the songwriting school that versatility is a Good Thing, his newest release, Love Me Like You Hate Me, spans the gulf from Americana TrashCan Blues, to Post-Folk, Acoustic SadBastard and Country Noir. Fans have added their two cents over the years with “Jeff Buckley meets Ryan Adams,” and “Chet Baker meets Tom Waits over a cup of coffee with Martin Sexton.”

Love Me Like You Hate Me is Radus’s debut solo release, after having toured and recorded with the Folk Noir duo, Duende from 2000-2005. With Duende, Radus brought his music coast to coast and abroad, receiving international critical acclaim. Duende also built a strong following in the New York City Anti-Folk scene, performing with acts such as Regina Spektor, Nellie McKay, Lach and Chris Barron. After the dissolution of Duende, Radus returned to academia, but kept one foot in the music world, beginning to piece together a strong solo repertoire. Although musicianship and songwriting are integral to Radus’ approach, it is his voice which consistently leaves audiences breathless and coming back for more.

Radus performs extensively both with his full band, Alex Radus and The SadBastards, and as a solo act, and is able to command both roles with ease. On 7.7.7, Radus released Love Me Like You Hate Me to a packed room at Piano’s in NYC before embarking on a summer-long tour in support of his new release. Radus was very well received on tour, selling hundreds of CD’s to new fans in New York City, Portland, Portsmouth, Burlington, Boulder, Denver and Phonix to name a few. To cap off the summer’s festivities, Radus returned home for his Philadelphia CD Release at the Tin Angel. The evening was a smashing success and buzz around the show earned Radus mentions in three successive issues of Philadelphia’s City Paper.

With one year to go on his dual Philosophy and Political Science degrees, Radus still keeps a busy performance schedule, and with the help of the Fourth Leaf Company, is already planning a full-band southern tour for January, complete with stops in Charlottesville, Charlotte, Durham, Asheville, and Nashville.

Radus is currently in search of a label and management to help make his budding solo career a success. Love Me Like You Hate Me is a strong debut showing, but the songwriter has a much larger bag of tricks and is anticipating an equally mature and accessible sophomore showing.