So why the interest in a pair of young male Canadian singers whose music flows very much in the mainstream direction? And especially from a magazine that shuns the hype and marketing behind so much of the computer-generated, radio-friendly music that’s peddled today. Ryan and Dan Kowarsky are 27 year-old identical twins who share more than looks. They share the same excellent singing voice and a passion for music that emerged at age of four when the twins first performed on stage. The twins are also (unusually) already tipped to score a Christmas number one single hit. Finally, on listening to the five-track album sampler, despite over-heavy orchestration, the natural and distinctive singing of the twins shines through.

On a visit to Wrexham’s MFM FM radio station I caught up with the guys on their whistle-stop, three-week tour of the nation’s radio stations. This promotional tour is ahead of the twins’ eponymous debut album which was released in the UK on the 24th September. As I approached the front of MFM’s studios I could see the twins on the steps of the building looking relaxed after an on-air interview and acappella singing session. They greeted me as I arrived and I was immediately struck by their friendly, easy and natural manner. We were then allocated a private room for my interview and with only ten minutes available I quickly asked about when and how the singing started. Dan explained that they came from a very musical family, “Our father is an established and successful opera singer (he has sung solo with a 60-piece orchestra), our older brother is also an opera singer, and our older sister is a country/pop singer. So we’ve grown up with music.” Ryan added that from a very young age they used to join in family singing sessions at home and performed publicly for the first time together at the tender age of four. I asked about voice coaching to which Dan responded that they had not received formal voice coaching and really didn’t need it with their father on-hand to provide advice and critique.

So when did the guys start to sing professionally? Dan explained that at the age of seventeen they and a friend had walked into the Sony offices with a tape. It just so happened that both the president and vice-president were in the building and virtually signed up the boys on-the-spot. Ryan added that the first album was a major seller in Canada and Germany. Now signed to Universal as a duet act, I was interested to know what sort of pressure existed with a large label and the implied investment in them. Dan explained, “Three major labels wanted us but we decided to opt for our current label because of the promise of total artistic freedom. We even control which photos are used on our website.” I then asked about who chose the twelve songs for the new album, thinking that the label must have had a major hand in choosing them. “We recorded fifty songs and then we alone chose the twelve that finally appeared on the album.” With the major marketing push to promote the new album, which has already included a heavy PR campaign of interviews and appearances, I wondered how the guys were coping. Dan was emphatic, “We love the PR. Every morning we wake up and just want to go to work. We love it.”

I was struck by the strong, youthful enthusiasm and passion shown by the guys who also exhibited a philosophical attitude to success. “We can only do our best in the hope that the public like what we do. If we couldn’t sing then I’m not sure what we would do. Singing is our life,” explained Dan. The album sampler I had heard featured populist writers like Julie Tzuke, but there was also one song written by the twins called ‘Tears Of An Angel.’ I asked the guys about the song which I judged to be the best on the sampler. Dan explained, “In the midst of all these great things happening for us we received the message that our niece had been diagnosed as having a brain tumour at the age of three. That day we sat down and wrote the song for her in about an hour. It’s a very emotional song for us and difficult to perform live without showing our feelings. She hasn’t heard it yet but we’ll sing it to her when the time is right.” I asked about the concerts they had performed most recently and in particular about the Tower Of London concert, supporting Catherine Jenkins. Ryan described the Tower Of London concert as pretty special and surreal in such unusual and historic surroundings. Dan said that they had also played with Michael Ball, recorded with Andrea Bocelli and just completed the Rugby World Cup song (‘World In Union’) with Catherine Jenkins and others.

The immensity of what lies ahead of Ryan and Dan became all too clear when they told me about the world tour planned for the next few months which will include the USA, Japan and Australia. Dan was enthusiastic about the Australian leg of the tour, “Can you imagine what it will be like performing at the Sidney Opera House!” I asked if the guys would be going to radio stations in Liverpool and Manchester. “We did Liverpool earlier today and are going to Manchester from here, and I’m not sure where we go from there…” said a laughing Ryan. My ten minutes was up and after a quick photo shoot the guys wandered over to their gleaming silver people carrier and left for Manchester.

The guys were an absolute pleasure to meet. I was surprised by the assured and easy they handled themselves considering the huge responsibility they carry on behalf of their record company. And believe me they are as identical as twins can be, save for their different clothing preferences. After the photo shoot I was amused when Dan felt obliged to explain that Ryan always stood to the left and he to the right; a useful tip for anyone trying to identify which is which. There’s no doubting that the pair is being marketed to the mums and dads market, and with their rugged good looks I imagine the ladies will be swooning over them. But I also suspect that there’s more to this pair than meets the marketing eye. They have already shown song writing capability with ‘Tears Of An Angel’ and are interested in writing more of their own songs. With their tremendous vocal range and tonal qualities they could perform almost any style of music, with or without orchestral backing. There was one question I wanted to ask but eventually didn’t because after hearing and seeing them it was obvious that individual solo work would be well nigh impossible… As they were whisked away on a beautiful sunny Welsh evening I could only see a very bright future looming very large, and deserved success for these two instantly likeable Canadians.