BIOGRAPHY

Richard Kapp & the Gowns is a chamber-pop band based in Vienna, Austria. Richard’s music is consistently fresh and surprising, keeping listeners on their toes as he loves to experiment with various styles while maintaining his distinctive character. His band, The Gowns, provides him with the freedom to express himself while enthusiastically supporting his music with their skilled and charming interpretations.

Richard is entirely self-taught, having begun playing the piano and singing at the age of six. Although he has no formal training in music theory, he arranges all of his songs on his own.

Since 2007 he is regularly performing and recording with his chamber-pop-ensemble “The Gowns”. A songwriter gathering momentum he has also worked with different artists around the world like Peter Kearns (NZ), Tony Cimorosi (US), Woodstock Taylor (UK), Gis Johannsson (US/IS), Bárbara Gilles (AR)  and many others. His debut album “A Tie For Free” has been released 2006, followed up by “*” (or Asterisk) in 2008. By the end of 2009, Richard has released his third album with The Gowns titled “Lunchbox” which was received enthusiastically by his fans and the press. Two songs received airplay at BBC 6music and irish musicmag RedTrackMusic chose Richard as “Artist of the year 2010”. Their latest album “Fake!” even received the “RECORD OF THE YEAR” award by scottish RADIO SIX INTERNATIONAL. Since 2022 they are working on a new album of which a single called “All The Little Things” has been released on all major streaming services by the end of 2024.

“Richard’s a very good artist in my opinion who shows great originality. Not very common these days.”
– Stuart Epps

Richard can be heard regulary on podcasts like NBT but he also has been aired on several radio stations including Radio Ö1, Radio Orange (Austria), Radio Fips (Germany), BBC 6music (UK), Amazing Radio (UK), ABC Radio (Australia) and the scottish station Radio Six International. Richard Kapp & The Gowns were sharing stage with David Kitt (IRL), BirdEatsBaby and Joe Black (UK), Bernhard Eder (AT), Agnes Milewski (AT), Bitter Ruin (UK), Matt Keating and Cassis (NY), Daniel Seestrand (SE) and many other wonderful songwriters. They perform in their hometown Vienna most of the time, but they also toured Germany, England and Scotland. Watch out for new tour dates here.

Richard Kapp & The Gowns are:
Richard Kapp (piano, vocals), Agnes Rössler (vocals, glockenspiel, perc. & funny, little instruments), Alexander Csurmann (drums & perc.), Bernadette Ott (viola), Roland Liegle (bass), Peter Schweighofer (sound magic)

Honorable mentions:
Former band members: Jean Philipp Oliver Viol (viola), Paul Schreitl (trombone), Marie Charpentier-Leroy (violin), Christine Pawlik (viola), Christian Gold (trumpet, flugelhorn)

Guest musicians: Markos Triantafyllou (clarinet), Jakob Aumaier (guitar), Christian Kisler (guitar), Tony Cimorosi (bass), Woodstock Taylor (vocals), Ina Simone (vocals), Bárbara Gilles (vocals), Peter Kearns (piano/bass), Mark “Spenny” Spencer (guitar), Gis Johannsson (vocals) – thank you all so much for supporting my quirky music!