Artist History Since writing his first song at age nine Lionel Bastos has never been able to shake his attraction to music. “After writing my first song, I knew that all I wanted to do was become a musician," he says. Born in Mozambique, Lionel's family moved to Cape Town during his pre-teens and he was educated in South Africa yet spent every vacation in the land of his birth so as not to lose his 'cultural heritage'. When Lionel was fifteen he received an honourable mention in the American song festival in which he was placed 100th out of fifty thousand entrants for writing 'Goodbye To You All' - an ode to his first love. He made his professional debut penning the track ‘Gimme Love' which was recorded by 70's South African super-group Clout as the b-side of their single 'Wish I were loving you’. It was picked up for air play and reached No. 2 on the charts.Since achieving such early success as a songwriter, he has written songs for some of South Africa's most influential artists including singles for Ed Jordan, Little Sister, Vicky Sampson and David Abatte as well as producing/co- producing and co-writinq tracks for international artists like Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Jimmy Wagner, Wendy Oldfield and Carol Leigh to name a few. In '93 and '94 he produced and wrote two CD's for Jimmy Wagner in Luxemburg. The one song, which remained at No 1 for nine weeks, was a duet with 'Romeos Daughter's' lead singer Leigh Matty. That song 'Steal Your Heart' went on to be included on a BMG compilation 'We Two Are One' and other compilations world-wide. In 1996 Lionel teamed up with Ed Jordan and Kreesan to record 'I Won't Be Home For Christmas', a track penned by Lionel while on the cruise ship Achille Lauro a year before it sank. It subsequently ended up on two European Xmas CD compilations. 'Don't Go On' was the first single for Lionel's band 'Be Like Water' and made it to No 3 on the 5FM national charts. This was a critically acclaimed debut reflecting Lionel's quirky sense of humour. 'More Than Just A Passing Phrase' also charted on national radio as was voted No 99 on 94.7's All Time Top 100 audience survey. The track 'Be Like Water' also received substantial airplay across the board and came in at No 6 on East Coast Radio's Top 10 listeners’ songs of the year. This album was subsequently nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album at the 1997 South African Music Awards.1997 was a fantastic year for Lionel, not only as an artist but also as a writer being invited to attend PolyGram Music's international songwriters workshop in England. He was voted Best Male Performer in the 1997 Music Africa Awards which are voted for by the industry and the public. He wrote the title track and co-wrote 'Nothing Changes' for Ed Jordan's 'Hear Me Howling' album which won Best Adult Contemporary Album at the 1998 South African Music Awards. In 1998 he released 'Simple' to rave reviews. He also wrote and produced three tracks on the official South African Soccer World Cup CD. He was commissioned to write, arrange and produce a song for 'South African Artists Fight Aids', an annual benefit held in December. The song featured the cream of South African singers and actors such as Sibonqile Nqoma, Khanyo, Pj Powers, Ed Jordan, Max Nthambo, Vicky Sampson, Gloria Bosman and Kreesan to name but a few, the “Making of” which got extensive TV, radio and print media exposure. The song was the finals for the 1998 Benefit concert at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre and featured the Who's Who of South African music and stage. Lionel also produced, wrote and co-wrote seven tracks on Carol Leigh's 'Whatever It Takes' CD which was nominated for three South African Music awards including being up against Lionels CD 'Simple'. In May 1999 'Simple' won Best Adult Contemporary Album at the South African Music Awards. He was also the support act for the only Bee Gees concert in SA at Loftus stadium in Pretoria at the end of last year.Last year Lionel produced two CD's, one being a major musical by top South African performer Ian Von Memerty and is the featured artist on the title single “Fiela’s Child”. The other is be a new Namibian artist who is performing to packed houses. He is also writing and co-writing with Ed Jordan for his follow up to 'Hear Me Howling'. He holds the distinction of having written more airplay singles for different South African artists than any other writer in this country.2001 sees the launch of a new album, “Rising Above the Madness”, recorded by national radio station SAfm. On the album he is joined by many of his friends in the music industry – notably Little Sister, Kreesan and Wendy Oldfield. The album is due for release to the general public on 1 May and features 16 tracks. Many of the tracks were recorded live last year when Lionel was invited by SAfm to perform at a webcast from the house of Dotcoza – Accenture’s Internet pioneer who lived in solitude for three months, with only the Internet for survival. In another first for a South African artist, the performance was viewed worldwide on the Internet, promoted on Yahoo!’s webcasts page, and featured on SAfm’s own website. This is the first time that these tracks will be commercially available.

Press Reviews Praise for previous album "Simple""Simply a great album" - iafrica.com"One of South Africa's musical treasures....a remarkable album...it sparkles with integrity and talent" - Music Africa Magazine

Location Johannesburg, Gauteng - South Africa

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