Joshua Radin

Joshua Radin's musical career began in the purest way possible.
I got a gig for an open mic night in the West Village and I wanted to write an original song for the show," says the Cleveland-born singer-songwriter. "So I wrote 'Winter.'
That was just two years ago. Radin was living in New York and trying to make his way as a painter and screenwriter when the opportunity for the open mic night came up. The delicate and heartbreaking "Winter" was a hit with the audience that night. With some friends' encouragement, it led to Radin following a career as a musician, releasing two independent albums, and garnering comparisons to classic singer-songwriters such as Nick Drake and Simon & Garfunkel, to modern-day luminaries such as Elliott Smith. His success eventually landed Radin deal with Columbia Records, which is re-releasing his second album, We Were HERE.
Radin quickly found a musical home at the Hotel CafÃ", a cozy Hollywood club that's become known for discovering some of the best singer-songwriters of the past few years. "It's like my home. It's an amazing community," says Radin, who was a standout at the inaugural Hotel CafÃ" Tour in 2005. "I walk in there all of the time not knowing who is going to be playing and always discover a new gem."
Radin also began working on his first full-length We Were Here. After going through a break-up and then falling in love in L.A., the artist had plenty to pull from. "For the most part," says Radin, "the record is a story about falling in and out of love and those moments in between."
Radin's popularity also continued to grow in an organic way. With the help of his management team, his indie release We Were Here eventually became a hit on iTunes, holding a top spot for over eight weeks and becoming one of the top 30 records in the country. The singer-songwriter from Cleveland found himself in a major label bidding war, getting five label offers in one week.
Radin chose Columbia Records since the label viewed his signing as a partnership more than anything. Columbia is re-releasing We Were Here, but the label isn't touching the album in any way. From the gentle production to the artwork, the disc remains exactly how Radin envisioned it. It simply allows Radin to do what he does best: create inspired music from the heart.
"They just said, 'You're doing a great job on your own, we're going to get on board and just help you out,'" says Radin. "It doesn't get any better than that."