About the Band Members

PAUL WINN

Paul has been with Hipnosis from the very beginning. Paul runs Hipnosis at all their performances. He is currently also promoting his second album.

ABOUT PAUL'S OTHER BAND

The Paul Winn Band is a three-piece group from Sydney, Australia. Described as a guitar driven pop band with a jazz and world music influence, their sound ranges from The Police and Crowded House through to Dave Mathews Band and John Mayer. The band have released 2 full length albums – a debut album called "Fortunate Man" was made public in 2004 and their latest album "Nothing’s New" was released in 2009.

Their music has been played locally on Triple M, Radar Radio and FBI.

Their music and filmclips have also appeared on Rage, ABC's Hack Half Hour, TVS and in several independent Feature Films.

Paul Winn Band reached number one position on Triple J Unearthed Pop Charts with "Nothing's New" in August 2009.

"Fortunate Man" was included on the 5th Sounds like Café compilation CD, alongside artists such as Tina Arena, Kate Ceberano and Sarah Blasko.

Check out Paul's music at www.paulwinnband.com

LANA NESNAS

Lana is one of the lead female singers in Hipnosis.

Lana has understudied and played leading roles in musicals such as South Pacific (Theatre Royal, Sydney), the original tour of Dirty Dancing (Aus/NZ), Berlin - Cabaret of Desire (Silo Theatre, Auckland) and as Cinderella in Cinderella and Friends for DSF 2003, Dubai. Her screen credits include Channel 9's All Saints and Paul Barakat's epic short, Squalor for IFSS. Turning heads with her powerhouse vocals and onstage charisma, Lana has performed as lead vocalist in various bands including international tribute band ABBAsBACK (Frida), Heaven Can Wait, Experiment Street, Creedence and Beyond, and MO award nominated party band, the Family Von Trapp. A WAAPA music theatre graduate, Lana can traverse genres with sophisticated ease. Her humour, presence and charm has captured the heart and attention of audiences worldwide.

SARAH J HYLAND

Sarah is one of the lead female singers in Hipnosis. She has recently released her second album and has been doing gigs in Sydney and New York to help promote it.

Melding traditional jazz influences with pop and blues, folk storytelling, jive and subtle R&B beats, Sarah J Hyland is bringing a new twist to jazz music with her release of "A Girl Like Me". The album recounts Sarah's exploration of relationships and the ups and downs that stem from each experience. The resulting songs take the listener on an emotional journey that ranges from despair to irony, frustration to self-effacing silliness.

"The album covers serious experiences, but does it in a very playful way musically," says Sarah. The Hunter Valley native launched her professional career in Sydney and then broadened her repertoire in New York. "It's serious fun because I wanted it to be musically light-hearted, even though some of the topics were quite painful for me at the time. The songs cover difficult topics that anyone can relate to, especially love and loss, but there's always humour that comes out of the carnage."

Sarah's self-penned lyrics are matched with the serious chops and composing skills of jazz guitarist David Longo. Together they have produced a collection of songs that blend honest lyrics with the serious sounds of Sarah's jazz quintet, including bassist Jonathan Brown, drummer Nic Cecire and keyboard virtuoso Gary Daley, who performs on piano, Rhodes, Hammond and accordion.

Both Sarah and David have had diverse musical careers, performing a range of styles with numerous artists. "We've paid the bills by doing lots of different types of gigs for other people, from pop to rock and dance," says Sarah. "David and I have a strong love of jazz, but our eclectic backgrounds give our jazz sound an extra dimension of colour." Sarah has sung with Vanessa Amarosi, Richard Clapton and Joe Camillieri, and performed at such notable venues as New York's Bitter End and at Sydney's Basement and Will &. Toby's Supper Club. David formerly played with the Australian Idol studio band for the show's first two seasons, recorded with Paulini for her debut album and performed with Doug Parkinson. 

Check out Sarah's website at www.sarahjhyland.com