Emmy Award-winning musician Peter Buffett has an acclaimed career that spans more than 28 years as a professional songwriter, producer, artist, performer, recording engineer, independent label owner and composer for film and television.
Beyond music, social action and philanthropy are very important to Peter Buffett. His tireless work with numerous non-profit organizations and charities has made him into a well-known activist for social concerns and these messages play out through his music.
Peter’s latest album, Imaginary Kingdom, was released on September 23rd, 2008 through his own imprint BeSide Records. His third solo vocal album, this record cements his reputation as a recording artist with something to say. Imaginary Kingdom was recorded and mixed in Buffett’s home studio in New York City, and proves to be an intensely personal journey of self-expression. His lyrics resonate his passion for social change and are accompanied with backgrounds of a chilling piano, intense percussion and graceful bass lines. Combining elements of soft and progressive rock with a contemporary vocal sound, the album reflects the unique pop sensibilities of Beck and Teenage Fan Club, the weightless harmonies of Elliott Smith and Matthew Sweet, and the dreamy pop/rock tromp of Guster or Death Cab For Cutie.
Peter Buffett recently performed the first single from Imaginary Kingdom, “Can We Love?” in New Orleans at the 10th anniversary of Eve Ensler’s V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. To this day, Peter Buffett is the only man to have ever perform on stage at a V-Day festival. “I hope that by the end of this song all the men in the room are singing along with me,” Buffett said about his monumental performance. “I sing this song as the voice of a child who didn’t understand the hatred in Selma that he saw on television and the voice of a man who doesn’t understand the violence in the Congo that he reads about in the newspaper.”
Currently, Peter Buffett is collaborating both musically and professionally with Grammy-nominated and international recording artist Akon. It began when Buffett wrote the song “Anything” (which appeared on his 2007 album Staring at the Sun) after visiting post-war Liberia and Sierra Leone. Akon, an avid supporter of aid organizations benefiting his home of Senegal, viewed the video Buffett created after his trip and was immediately inspired to contribute, working with Buffett to produce and sing on a new remix of the track. In June 2008, Peter Buffett and Akon launched the website IsThereSomethingICanDo.com to promote social action through social networking, and have continued to develop their creative friendship with their new song, “Blood Into Gold,” which debuted at a special concert held in the UN General Assembly around The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Peter Buffett launched his new ‘Concert and Conversation’ series tour in the Fall of 2008, which kicked off with a special evening at The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio) in Los Angeles in October. The ‘Concert and Conversation’ series presents an entertaining and informative look at the things Peter was taught, the lessons he’s learned, and their effect in creating the man he’s become. It spotlights Peter’s extensive background in music, punctuated with stories about his philanthropic and life experiences as the son of one of the most noteworthy investors of our time. Peter Buffett performs selections from Imaginary Kingdom, and shares exclusive videos of his work and philanthropic activities in an informal setting. Peter continues to take this show on the road to concert and lecture halls including the Berklee College of Music, Syracuse University and Columbia University.
Categories: Musicians and Music Arts, Philanthropy
