by William RuhlmannSinger/songwriter Carla Werner was born and raised in New Zealand, the daughter of a dairy farmer. Her grandfather played in a band called the Country Boys, and she was exposed to a broad range of pop music as a child. She began singing country music in competitions before her teens. Early in her teens, she moved to Australia with her mother and siblings, where the competitiveness of the music scene caused her to give up trying to become a professional musician at 16. At 19, however, she moved to Sydney to seek that very career. She met producer John Holbrook in 1999 and in 2000 signed her first record deal with Engine Room Music. This led to an introduction to producer Carmen Rizzo, who worked with remix artist Paul Oakenfold, and she began to add vocals to Oakenfold productions while continuing to work on her first album. By 2001, she was actively seeking a deal with international record companies, and she succeeded in securing a contract with Columbia Records. Her debut album, Departure, was released by Columbia on July 29, 2003.