Tina Dico

Tina Dico (born Tina Dickow Danielsen on 14 October 1977) is a Danish singer-songwriter.

She founded her own record label and releases her music independently, enjoying large success with her albums in her home country as well as critical acclaim across Europe.

She is inspired by artists such as Tracy Chapman, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.

In Denmark she performs both under her real name, Tina Dickow, and under the adopted name Tina Dico as well.

Dico was born in Åbyhøj in Aarhus.

Tina's father, who owned a high-end Hi-Fi stereo system in their basement, introduced her to music while she was still quite young.

Dico's interest in playing music started in 8th grade, when she played in the cover-band Mel.

They played a lot of songs by Jimi Hendrix, among other artists.

After high school in 1997 she began at Aarhus University, where she studied comparative religion.

However, she soon quit the university to study at The Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, which she eventually also quit to pursue her dream as a professional singer-songwriter.

The show was on Danish TV in 1998.

After playing the part, she had a lot of offers for other roles, but since she did not like being typecast as a naïve girl from Jutland, she rejected them all.

In 1998, Tina introduced the other members of the band Fester Kester to a song of her own, and their enthusiasm led them to enter, and win, two talent contests the same year: "Talentspot" on Danish TV2, and "Vi har scenen, har I musikken?"

(We've got the stage, do you have the music?) in Aarhus.

The band Tina Dickow and Sheriff was formed in 1998, and later that year the single "Your Waste of Time" was released.

It was picked as Song of the Week on Danish National Radio, DR P3, and led to some degree of fame.

After all this success, quite a lot of correspondences with different major record labels began, and the rest of 1999 was spent in endless negotiations without results.

The band had an acoustic tour around Denmark and a few concerts with full band in Copenhagen and Aarhus.

A single containing "26 Friends" and "Different" was recorded as a prelude to the annual Scandinavian "Venue" tour, which the band was part of in 2000.

They were paired with American singer Sandy Dillon and played concerts in Vega, Copenhagen, and Norway and Sweden.

Several conversations with established record labels followed after the success with "Your Waste of Time", but Tina Dico was unhappy with the way they intended to market her.

Instead she got a loan from a bank, and started her own record label, Finest Gramophone in 2000.

The company's first release was Tina Dico's Fuel in 2001.

The response from the critics was modest, but they all saw her big potential as an artist.

In 2001, Tina Dico also teamed up with her current manager, Jonathan Morley, at the Spot (music festival) in Aarhus.

In 2001, Tina also met Steffen Brandt, who had heard the cover Tina did of his song "Alt Hvad Hun Ville Var at Danse" at a concert in Kerteminde.

He got fascinated and was invited to one of her next concerts in Aarhus.

Finest Gramophone went on to sign another Danish act, Love Julie, which released two albums.

Tina Dico says that she has no intention of signing future acts, due mostly to time constraints.

She signed a four-year contract with Jonathan, and during the 2002 MIDEM-festival in Cannes, France, she signed with British KobAlt Music Publishing.

In the beginning of 2002, Tina Dico moved to England in an attempt to escape the cosy atmosphere in Denmark.

In 2002 Tina played her first duo-concerts with Steffen Brandt on Bornholm.

Notes was recorded in cooperation with her friend Dennis Ahlgren over two days in June 2003.

The critics were very positive this time.

Thanks to her contract with Jonathan Morley, she had the opportunity to step into the English music community, which led to a collaboration with Australian singer Holly Valance on the song "Send My Best" in 2005.

Tina wrote the album Notes during her stay in England, capturing the loneliness and fear of being alone in London.

Notes was written while Tina lived in Richmond and later on Tenter Ground near Brick Lane in London.

In 10th grade, she attended a boarding school called Sejergaardens Musikefterskole.

When she started in high school, she helped form the cover-band Fester Kester, who played at high school parties.

At the age of 20 she got a part in the slightly erotic TV-show Karrusel, where she played opposite the 41-year-old Peter Steen and Michael Falch.