Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Marcel Caroto was raised as an ordinary child, living in a middle class family. The son of Leslie and Mirjam Caroto, two aspiring entrepreneurs, he grew up with the influence of contemporary jazz and eclectic tunes which his father played in his spare time, and listened to the sounds of Santana, Al Dimeola, Black Sabbath, the who, etc, while his sister played all the new-age Pop, R&B and dance music which were setting the trends of the youth.

He went to regular kindergarten and elementary school, growing up playing with his friends, and attending extra murals, but one thing stood out about him, and that was the fact that he was always singing – as he was busy getting ready for school, while he was in the car along with the radio, at recess, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, outdoors, indoors – all day, everyday!

As he progressed to adolescence and all the fun that life could offer, it was clearly apparent that he had an exceptional talent for music. He attended classical piano and vocal training, but soon, like Tori Amos, one of his greatest influences, gave up on reading music, as he always complained that it hindered his natural ear, being able to compose an array of versatile melodies he happily would sing to.

Unfortunately, Marcel gave up on singing and composing as soon as he entered high school, due to being ridiculed continuously for his unbroken voice and being overweight. For four years he focused all his energy into academics and started working on pursuing a career in medicine. Although he excelled in mathematics and biology, he was always singing, and soon rediscovered the keyboard which he had neglected for so long.

Suddenly he was always found in front of the piano, composing music by ear and implementing his beautifully flexible vocals.

‘It was as if something deep inside me had been awakened; that I had to sing and play in order to form a balance, that music was the way to go’

Within the following two years Marcel finally decided to pursue his love for music, and began looking for alternative career directions which would better suit a life where he could earn enough to gain financial independence, but also have enough time to work on his musical vocation.

During this time he met singer/songwriter, Xavier Saer, an aspiring Latin-enthused artist, who began vocally training Marcel and co-songwriting with him. They had come up with a repertoire of versatile R&B/pop tunes, with a contemporary feel, and soon began working in-studio together with the founder of One Big Room Studios, Ludwig Bouwer, to create his first three-song EP, First Draft.

‘This 19-year old singer has a voice that’ll put many an experienced singer to shame’ ~ Ludwig Bouwer (OneBigRoom Studios Producer)

Marcel spontaneously enrolled at the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance (AFDA) and is currently in second year with his Bachelor of Arts in Live Performance, and his Bachelor of Arts in Music Production.

“I signed up with AFDA at a stage in my life where I was still naïve and didn’t really have much direction. I was an eighteen-year old, fresh-out-of-high school guy, enjoying what life had to offer me. “

It is at AFDA where He is honing his abilities as a Singer-Songwriter-Composer-Actor, building up a repertoire of short films and songs for live performance and studio recording.

‘His Beautiful R&B voice will sweep you off your feet’ ~ Xavier Saer (The Songworks Producer)

Allow Marcel Caroto to blow you away as he takes you on a journey through his vocal world with his first three-song EP, First Draft and his debut album, OVERCOME, due for release in 2009.