The GoldCoast Oceanfest 2012 Line Up
Want to see who played last year? click here
Friday 15th June 2012
Newton Faulkner
Newton Faulkner is a double-platinum selling artist who signed to Sony in July 2007. His highly acclaimed first album, ‘Hand Built by Robots’, was released the same year and peaked at number one in the UK charts, as well as reaching two times platinum sales figures.
After an accident that left him with a broken wrist and dislocated hand, having been bolted back together with a metal plate and having been at risk of losing his ability to play guitar, Newton named his 2009 album ‘Rebuilt by Humans’. He had persisted to pick his guitar back up only weeks after his accident and the record that he consequently created was nominated for a Brit award, was certified gold, and received high critical acclaim from a wide spectrum of audiences.
In the past he has supported James Morrison, Paolo Nutini, John Mayer and The John Butler Trio on their respective sold-out tours, and has performed at a wide range of festivals, including Glastonbury, V Festival and The Isle of Wight Festival. Newton is currently working on his third album.
For more information please visit http://www.newtonfaulkner.com
Dry The River
“I think people are surprised when they come to see us live.” says Peter Liddle, heavily tattooed frontman of London’s Dry the River. “They expect us to be really calm and quiet but in some ways we’re the opposite.”
You can see why people get confused: this five-piece band has all the hallmarks of the latest folk sensation: elemental name, beards, acoustic guitars, even a violinist. But what sets Dry the River apart is a background in hardcore and post-punk bands, hence the tattoos, lyrics that read like a Steinbeck novel and a sonic palette that sweeps from gentle to giant like an incoming storm.
“Emo has become a term of derision, but originally it meant emotive hardcore – all these DC bands like Indian Summer, Rites of Spring, Antioch Arrow who wanted to move away from political music to express personal things in an intense and energetic way. They screamed and cried in their sets and more often than not sounded like an amplified food blender,” says Liddle. “But the underlying idea is cool: although it’s important to play with passion, I believe that there should be an emotional underpinning to all music and all performance.”
Dry the River’s origins lie with Liddle. Born in Norway to British parents, his early life was a shifting one thanks to his father’s work as an engineer in the oil industry. Ever-changing homes and schools gave Liddle a peculiar set of reference points: “I think I have a fixation with community and belonging, because that wasn’t something I had as a child.” And though his parents are only “quietly religious,” Liddle became fascinated by the iconography and language of the Roman Catholic Church at one of his many primary schools, where his voice was honed in the school choir. Though he’s not overtly religious, religious symbolism creeps into Dry the River’s lyrics, not least in Bible Belt and Shaker Hymns. “I think if you play with King James’ vocabulary it accesses a solemnity; something deep within people,” says the Leonard Cohen inspired singer. “It sets a tone that says this is some serious shit.”
By the time Liddle returned to Newbury as a teenager, he and the various members of Dry the River – guitarist Matthew Taylor and violinist Will Harvey, plus Scott Miller (bass) and Jon Warren (drums) – were crossing paths in various bands on the DIY scene centred around Southampton, Reading and Newbury’s Waterside Youth Centre. “It was this cool, grimy little venue,” says the singer. “You could rehearse there, and they always put on local bands alongside touring artists, which really helped cultivate the scene. It meant you could sell out a decent venue with your 16 year old punk band.”
University took Liddle first to Bristol, where he studied anthropology, and then to London’s Kings College, where he enrolled in medical school.
“I don’t know if I wanted to save lives in a hands-on way,” he muses. “I saw myself more as a lab doctor than a people doctor. You know, spending a lot of time in a white coat looking down a microscope. I think in some ways I also wanted to look illness and mortality in the eye, to see how things like human dissection would affect me.”
Throughout his first degree, music had been a major distraction: “I was off touring with bands while I was writing my anthropology dissertation,” he says. “I would do stupid things like take three weeks off uni and not tell the lecturers.” At medical school, with ten years of band experience behind him, he resolved to put music on the back burner and focus on his studies. But in spite of his best efforts, the acoustic guitar in the corner was calling. Liddle started writing folky material in his hall of residence room and, on summer break, called on those old friends from the Reading scene – by now all living in London – to record them. “Initially the emphasis was on it being something distinct from our old bands – really gentle and lo-fi,” says Liddle. “Every time Jon tried to rock out I’d say, No, no, keep it stripped back.”
Following that session, Liddle embarked on a summer 2009 solo tour under the Dry the River name. On returning, he assembled the full band for a debut show at London’s Lexington, and found it was well attended by label A&R. Soon after, Liddle stopped telling the band to hold back. “When we started to do live shows, we found it felt wrong to restrain ourselves. Playing in a heavier way brought the songs a fresh intensity – it was more fun for us and for the crowd.”
In the ensuing months, the band’s snowballing success was to medicine’s detriment. On signing to Transgressive publishing, the band were able to quit their jobs and studies. “We went on tour straight after and went absolutely wild for six months,” says Taylor. “We just partied the whole fucking time.” They clocked up some miles too, playing across Europe, the UK and even the Outer Hebrides.
When not on tour, the five were living together in a house in Stratford, East London, in what can be described as near-medieval living conditions. “Pete sleeps on a mattress on the dining room floor,” says Taylor. “You have to climb over his head to get to the toilet in the night.” For at least one band member, it’s an improvement on what came before: “When Jonny was in hardcore bands he couch surfed for three years,” says Taylor. “It’s pretty normal behaviour on that scene.” The close living conditions and hard touring have fostered an impossibly tight bond between the band. “We know each other well enough to tell when people are actually pissed off,” says Taylor. “I guess in that respect it’s like living with four brothers – we rip it out of each other relentlessly, but we know when to leave each other alone.”
In March 2011, the band traveled to Bridgeport, Connecticut to record their debut album with producer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol), a man whose professional ethos was a perfect match. “We were looking for someone who could strike a balance between lo-fi and hi-fi,” says Liddle. “We wanted to record the bulk of it to tape, to use analogue stuff in favour of computer wizardry where possible, but without it sounding like an old folk record. I think we tried to preserve the fragility and honesty of the more stripped down tracks, but still get the intensity of the live show across too – to marry those two aspects of our music without it sounding incongruous.” In downtime, they played shows in New York, growing a grassroots following there with each passing week.
Back in Britain, the band’s progress remained rapid – videos of off-the-cuff acoustic performances became internet smashes, EPs sold out and festival bookings began to come in. In March 2011, they stormed South By South West, despite performing without a drummer for five of the six gigs due to visa troubles. “We decided we’d still use our amps and still be loud – we just played as if Jonny was there. For a couple of shows we put some drums on stage and kind of hit them when we could.”
In September 2011, the band sold out London’s Scala a clear seven months before their debut album was due. A further, bigger show at Camden’s Electric Ballroom was quickly announced for May 2012 and sold out three months in advance. Additionally, a slot on this year’s BBC Sound of 2012 list rewarded their stealthy ascent while their forthcoming prestigious slots at this year’s SxSW festival and a recently confirmed headline show at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire in November show how far they’ve come in the last 12 months.
When their album finally arrives in March of 2012 the band hope their particular musical heritage and circuitous journey will shine through. “I’d be pleased if people felt that it’s not just another indie folk record,” says Liddle. “I think we’ve agonised over every note of it. It has some hooks and big melodies but it’s contemplative and considered too.”
Dry the River have laid the groundwork for a stellar year in 2012. Don’t call them the next great folk band. Just call them the next great band, full stop.
Gabrielle Aplin
Introducing 18-year-old sensation Gabrielle Aplin; a shining example of a 21st-century star with a remarkable talent and impressively loyal following.
Born and bred in the historic town of Bath, Gabrielle’s pared down blend of sweetly romanticised, introspective pop-folk hovers somewhere between Ellie Goulding and Ed Sheeran and with her fresh, new sonic perspective, clings fast to the adage that less is more.
Gabrielle reveres time-honoured folk mavens Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake but there’s a decidedly modern twist to this olde English tale: her YouTube hit count has surpassed the six million mark, with her rendition of You Me At Six’s ‘The Liar and the Lighter’ receiving over 500,000 plays alone. She currently has the 73rd most subscribed channel on the site. Gabrielle’s ever growing online presence and dedicated interaction with her followers has also seen her amass over 20,000 Facebook fans and she recently recorded a session at Maida Vale studios for Radio 1’s BBC Introducing, featuring a heartfelt cover of Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’.
As a self-taught, multi-instrumentalist, she confidently moves from piano and guitar to percussion with the skill of an experienced musician and certainly has the entrepreneurial know-how to boot. Self-releasing two EPs on her own Never Fade Records – the ‘Acoustic’ EP and ‘Never Fade’ EP, which have sold 15,000 copies to date – with the latter’s breathtaking, multi-tonal title track, ‘Never Fade’ reached no.14 in the UK Albums iTunes Chart and made it into the Top 50 in Australia and Top 100 in the US, respectively.
‘Panic Cord’ sees her glide through a patter of delicate instrumentation and the savvy former music student wraps her versatile timbre around acoustic guitar for ‘Ghosts’. Reverse’ packs a powerful punch and showcases the full strength of Gabrielle’s inimitable talent.
An ambitious self-starter, she has already played to sold-out audiences on three headline UK tours, appeared at a number of festivals – including Glastonbury and Secret Garden Party.
For this 21st century star, things are only really just beginning…
http://gabrielleaplin.co.uk/
Small Town Jones
Devon based singer/songwriter Jim Jones is back with a brand new album. Having received a four start review in Q magazine for the last album “Daylight and stars”, the new album Freight ships is set to make even bigger waves having received airplay on Dermot O’Leary’s Radio 2 show where he described the title track as“Annoyingly Good!” Making a real impression Small Town’s Jim Jones & Dave Little were invited onto Dermot’s show two weeks later on the the 3rd of December 2011 for an interview and to play the live lounge sessions. Since this time Dermot has continued to Champion Small town Jones regularly playing his tracks.
Recording as Small Town Jones, Jim has once again collaborated with the prodigiously-talented multiinstrumentalist and long time friend David Little to create a remarkable new record – recorded by top producer Kevin Prosch at his studio, Third Ear Music, in Amarillo, Texas. With his cracked, emotional, English voice playing against the widescreen sounds of a Texan setting, ‘freight ships’ combines the best of both nations: classic Anglo-Americana.
The album includes a first for Jim. While he previously worked on music-production ideas with the singer Peter Bruntnell, he has never before collaborated on lyrics. But on ‘freight ships’ he worked with his long-time friend, the film journalist Nev Pierce (Editor-At-Large for Empire, the world’s biggest movie magazine) to cowrite the track ‘Big Screen Reality’.
Themes of hope and disillusionment run through this album, with Jim calling on his love of the ocean and nature to conjure distinct, memorable images in songs that will stay with you. The album will launch in Jim’s home county of Devon on February 4th 2012 at The Factory in Barnstaple followed by a tour of the UK. The album will be available to buy through iTunes, Amazon and on CD from www.smalltownjones.com.
ABOUT SMALL TOWN JONES
After competing with artists, bands, comedians and even a suicidal cult leader, Jim decided it was a good time to change his musical moniker. So, Small Town Jones…
The name combines his own with the band he once fronted: Small Town Mentality. Their 2005 album, ‘Monochrome’ was as much a therapeutic as artistic endeavour for Jim – with its personal, emotionally charged content.
In 2009, Jim recorded his first solo record, ‘Daylight & Stars’, with Peter Bruntnell producing. It received a glowing, four-star review in Q magazine and he toured extensively with his “emotive confessionals and keening ballads” (Keith Hargreaves – Americana UK).
Josh Kumra
Josh Kumra is a thoughtful young singer songwriter with a guitar on his back and a long road ahead.
Hailing from Swindon, Josh grew up listening to the music his father played – Dylan, Hendrix, and Simone.
After playing every stage in and around Swindon, he hit the road and played his first London show at Camden’s Monkey Chew’s where he met a management team, soon signed a publishing deal with Levels / EMI and started writing the next chapter of his story.
Likened to a young Ray LaMontagne or Ben Harper, Josh is rapidly developing a name for himself as a gutsy and heartfelt young performer.
The Summer of 2011 saw the artist Wretch 32 re-work one of Josh’s songs, ‘Don’t Go’ which led to a #1 single and Josh taking to the stages of Glastonbury and V, as well as ‘Later With Jools’ and Radio One’s Live Lounge.
Now signed to the same company as Dylan, Josh is working on his studio tan, his debut album and looking forward to lots of shows in the year ahead.
Emily and The Woods
Emily and The Woods is London born singer-songwriter Emily, brother Benedict, drummer Harry Mead and bass player John Parker (Nizlopi). Recent gigs include slots with artists such as Ben Howard, Ed Sheeran, Lucy Rose, The Treetop Flyers and Newton Faulkner. Last summer was a very busy one with perfomances from Emily and the band at Glastonbury (they were ‘Pick of The Day’ for Saturday’s Acoustic Stage performance), Blissfields, Knee Deep, and Grassroots Festivals. The latest Emily and The Woods EP, produced by Patrick Wood and featuring Ted Dwane (Mumford & Sons), Marcus Hamblett, (Sons of Noel and Adrian) and drummer Roy Dodds (Fairground Attraction) is available now on iTunes. With a string of dates already lined up for 2012 and airplay on Amazing Radio, BBC 6 Music and Xfm already under her belt, the future for looks very exciting for Emily and The Woods!
“There’s a smouldering seductive jazz tinge to some of her songs, a hint of the blues and in her performance there’s a bucket load of confidence…” – Breaking More Waves
Saturday 16th June 2012
Ben Howard
In quintessentially English terms one may say we are delighted!
Closer to the truth, we are absolutely STOKED to announce that BEN HOWARD will headline the 2012 GoldCoast Oceanfest. This news just makes us so happy!
A firm favourite with the surf & music genre that epitomises Oceanfest, BEN HOWARD’S debut album EVERY KINGDOM has rocketed this ‘Devonshire’ lad into the big time. True to his roots, Ben loves Croyde and the idea of coming home, off the back of his top ten album success to Devon and the GoldCoast for another visit, just makes perfect sense.
Ben has just sold out a European tour and is on his way to a breakthrough tour in America before coming back to the GoldCoast Oceanfest in June. Man!… this guy is literally flying! His new album “EVERY KINGDOM” has been Radio 1 gold and is a firm favourite of Fern Cotton, Zane Louw and Greg James. Check out Nick Levine’s great review of Ben’s EVERY KINGDOM, http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/9mb6
For festival tickets and the opportunity to see Ben at the GoldCoast Oceanfest, please visit the website today. Limited tickets are available ONLINE only at http://goldcoastoceanfest.co.uk/boxoffice/
Natty
Fresh off an American tour (supporting Ziggy Marley) NATTY heads west again as main support to BEN HOWARD on the Oceanfest stage, live and direct from North Devon’s GoldCoast. With his smooth blend of reggae and sounds from around the world NATTY sums up modern Britain with soulful accuracy. Now ready to release a new album this summer, Natty’s success off the back of his first album ‘Changes’, paints a positive picture of a young man’s reflections faced with a world consumed by individual and global changes. “There’s a new breeze, I can feel a change coming in the air…” sings NATTY – it must be that off-shore blown’ again, roll on summer in Croyde man! To buy tickets for the festival visit our box office here…goldcoastoceanfest.co.uk/boxoffice also visit nattymusic.co.uk to listen and find out more about the man
Dog is Dead
Bio coming soon.
Juan Zelada
AFTER years spent striving to get his voice heard, now Juan Zelada has finally struck that elusive record deal the last thing on his mind is popping champagne corks or putting his feet up and savouring the achievement – for now.
As anyone who knows Juan would expect, after years spent relentlessly traipsing his keyboard around the acoustic circuit – playing piano in restaurants, bars, weddings, cruise ships,… anywhere and everywhere – the hard-working singer/songwriter is focussed on taking his music and his band to the next level in 2012 with the imminent release of his debut album High Ceilings & Collar Bones on Decca Records.
Juan giggly explains the album’s title: “It’s about as random as it comes! It evokes images of concepts I am very fond of, images everyone likes: the aspirations you can have looking up to owning somewhere with high ceilings and getting excited about the sensuality and appealing nature of a woman’s neckline!”
Juan’s sense of humour has kept him and his dedicated band going through the highs and lows of touring the daunting London circuit this last three years – Juan: “There is never a pointless gig!” – where he was initially spotted by a restaurant manager Adam Low. He recognised there was something different about this particular artist he booked to entertain his customers: “I had this old piano in one of the restaurants and would book performers through an agency who would play very boring ‘play it again Sam type stuff’ but when Juan came in I immediately noticed he was a great performer, clearly different from the others, with great charisma getting half the restaurant singing along. Getting 100 diners singing along is no easy thing!”
The first of several to offer Juan their dedication, commitment and conviction, Adam quit his lucrative job with the ambition of breaking Juan and – despite no previous experience – built a team around Juan and self-released material in a DIY operation which has elicited incredible results. Juan’s debut single, Breakfast In Spitalfields, released in June, was A-Listed on Radio Two and a Record Of The Week where it remained on the playlist for five weeks. Moreover, at its peak it was the second most played song on the station – reaching number 29 on the airplay chart – behind Adele; a formidable achievement for any artist, let alone an unsigned one.
Yet this was no flash in the pan. The station’s faith in Juan didn’t diminish when it again playlisted Juan’s second single The Blues Remain in October. Asked why Radio Two took so well to his music, Zelada says, “Maybe the guys at Radio Two just thought it was radio-friendly? I understand people need to pigeonhole us and it’s hard but what I’ve always said is Paul Simon, James Taylor and Ray Charles have always been in my head. These are the artists I try to emulate.”
It is perhaps no surprise then that when Paul Simon’s record label Decca came calling Juan jumped at the opportunity to work with them. “The goal has never been a label signing as a finishing line, it’s been about getting the exposure. There’s no space or time to celebrate and the deal certainly takes it to the next level, but being signed to Decca, that’s what’s truly inspiring,… exceptional even. The most credible label we liked, the history they love and represent, the artists they have – Imelda May, Jamie Cullum, Paul Simon,… legends! – it’s a real privilege to be on that label with that talent and for them to let us keep doing our thing. I’ll just keep doing what I do.”
Which for Juan means keeping on the road gigging, because that’s what he does best, having already performed sold-out shows built through word-of-mouth buzz at Hoxton Bar & Grill and Dingwalls in London, and to rave reviews leading to BBC London News tipping him as ‘One To Watch’ for 2012. Juan has played as a former keyboardist with artist Bryn Christopher’s touring band who supported Amy Winehouse on her infamous Back To Black tour. Then when Juan stepped out on his own in 2009 that line-up subsequently became his band which as a six piece features trumpet and sax courtesy of a brass section who used to tour with Lily Allen and The Maccabees.
Juan’s ability to get everyone from the back of the room to the front singing recently caught the attention of the Communion stable – co-founded by Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett – who took Juan on a tour out of London to the regions of the UK to terrific effect. More celebrated for championing folk artists like Laura Marling and Noah & The Whale, it’s not a pairing you would naturally expect, but as Juan explains: “If you are doing your job well, people come to you, you don’t have to be knocking on doors canvassing. Many people might think I am more mainstream but their audience love songs and I can do ‘folky’ pulling out the big numbers with the brass section. Fifty people turning up now means as much as 5,000 people in the future, they need impressing – and I was impressed and overwhelmed by their love.”
Indeed, for many who have joined Juan on his journey so far, it has been a labour of love with many people getting involved having to juggle other commitments with no expectation of return. As the demand to see Juan live has spiralled he has had to balance writing his album, which was penned entirely by himself and has been recorded at Metropolis, Abbey Road and Rockfield Studios in Wales co-produced by Matt Lawrence, the ex-chief engineer of Metropolis Studios (Ellie Goulding, James Morrison) and mixed by Danton Supple, best known for his work with Coldplay. Aside from his own album, Juan’s song writing ability has been much in demand leading to co writes with Noisettes/Mumford & Sons collaborator Josh Weller, new Duran Duran guitarist Dom Brown and pop writers Andy Murray and Lee Mac.
Its sound is still hard to pigeonhole – the closest anyone has come is “Ben Folds Five meets Dave Matthews Band” – but it’s perhaps what you would expect from someone who grew up listening to his parents’ record collection – Juan: “a lot of Americana music from the Sixties and Seventies” – of Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Billy Joel; originally from Madrid, Juan travelled with them to live in Hong Kong before attending Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute Of Performing Arts (where the former Beatle personally handed him an award for his songwriting) and settling in London.
When High Ceilings & Collar Bones is released in January people will be able to decide on Juan’s sound for themselves, and he hopes, venture out to see him live. “People seeing us and enjoying us is great, they have done that for years, but people coming out specifically to see you is another thing, that’s what I am looking forward to in 2012. And the banter on the road,… And the hangovers,… But mostly I am looking forward to the unexpected. Anything can happen,…”
And with Juan Zelada – who won’t stop until he can view those high ceilings – it probably will.
Peter Bruntnell
When NME claimed that ”Peter Bruntnell’s records should be taught in schools”, they were referring to the particular genius of the quiet Devonian’s songwriting craft. First coming to public attention with 2005’s “Normal For Bridgewater”, Bruntnell was initially categorized in the “alt-country” bracket, but his restless musical spirit has meant each successive album striking out in new directions. 2009’s “Peter And The Murder Of Crows”, filled with psychedelic drones and mellifluous tunes, was Americana Album Of The Month in MOJO Magazine and one of Q magazine’s Americana Albums Of The Year.
Peter’s albums feature strange tales of small town romance and big city isolation, the erosion of community and the wonders of family life, ticking all the right sonic boxes for a fiercely loyal fan base. Continuing his long-distance songwriting partnership with Vancouver lyricist Bill Ritchie, Peter has also gained the respect of his peers. If you ask the likes of Kurt Wagner, Peter Buck, Willy Vlautin, Jay Farrar or Kathleen Edwards, they all agree that he’s a writer with rare and mysterious qualities.
In 2010, Bruntnell toured extensively with both Son Volt and Richmond Fontaine – in both cases, at the request of the headliners. Recorded in his home studio in Devon, “Black Mountain UFO” sees Peter finally making the great pop album he has always threatened to produce. It mixes West Coast harmonies with the requisite dab of psychedelia, all delivered in a characteristically British fashion (song titles name-check Reggie Perrin and Penelope Keith). The startling sleeve depicts the story which has emerged as the title track. After a series of therapy sessions involving hypnosis, Peter discovered he had been abducted by an alien spaceship, whose inhabitants instructed him to write the song. A psych masterpiece, it sits comfortably on the album alongside other new Bruntnell classics like “St Christopher” and “Bruise On The Sky”.
The most interesting thing about Peter Bruntnell’s music, and the reason for his devoted following, is the indefinable knack the songs have of locking into the listener’s emotions, but no one quite understands how or why. There’s no one else like him around, and now he’s made the perfect pop record.
“I fuckin’ love Peter Bruntnell” – Kurt Wagner (Lambchop)
“Bruntnell has a remarkable knack for turning out big, dreamy, melodic, memorable songs” – Mojo
“His songs are warm and beautifully radiant” – Uncut
“One of the finest songwriters in Britain” – The Independent
“His songs should be taught in schools” – NME
“One of England’s best kept musical secrets” – Rolling Stone
I first saw Pete Bruntnell in a multicoloured teepee in a quiet corner of Glastonbury two years ago. As always when one is dragged by a friend who insists “you have to see this guy”, there is a sense of trepidation, but in Peter’s case I needn’t have worried. His perfectly married lyrics and melodies draw the listener in. There are faint echoes of Gram Parsons and the storytelling sensibility of Ray Davies but he has a singular voice. One of the best kept secrets in the British live music scene. Seek him out and spread the word. PHILL JUPITUS.
Without doubt, one of the hits of the weekend, and one of the biggest surprises, was Peter Bruntnell. Despite being English, his music has a very definite American sound, Uncle Tupelo and Big Star obviously being influences. Perhaps road music would be an apt description. The songs he and his band performed were loud but articulate. His supporting players were awesome, especially young guitarist James Walbourne, whose solos repeatedly amazed the audience. THE IRISH TIMES-KILKENNY ROOTS FESTIVAL.
Thomas J Speight
2010-2011 saw the digital release of Thomas J Speight’s EP ‘Willow Tree’ through the independent label Young & Lost Club (home of Noah and the Whale and Johnny Flynn), and support slots for Fionn Regan, Doves, Mumford & Sons and Stephen Fretwell – all of which has helped make Thomas and his melodic vocal stylings a must-see.
The ‘Willow Tree’ EP, produced by Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin (Mt Desolation and Keane) has received widespread acclaim from a number of sources for its insightful lyrics and intricate arrangements, including Ryan Adams, who acknowledged the sound as “so beautiful”.
This, in addition to support from Sir Paul McCartney, suggest that Thomas J Speight is one to watch.
This year will see Thomas J Speight team up once again with Jesse Quin and Andy Dunlop for the release of the four track EP: ‘Together Or Alone’, which showcases some of his best work to date.
Ryan Keen
Meet English born and bred singer-songwriter Ryan Keen – an artist carving out his own unique niche in music. Combining emotionally driven lyrics and warm vocals with his rhythmic-percussive guitar playing, Keen’s songs recall a wealth of influences ranging from Buena Vista Social Club to Bert Jansch, Coldplay to BB King.
Hailing from picturesque South Devon, the 24 year-old picked up his first guitar on his 8th Birthday. From then on he began to learn one style after another: acoustic, electric, classical but most noticeably flamenco, a style that is deeply rooted in the rhythmic-percussive finger-picking technique that he is known for today.
In just two years Ryan self-released his EP “Aiming For The Sun,” he’s toured extensively around the UK, he’s had a song synched on the popular Canadian television show “Degrassi” and has built up a strong fan-base that seems to be growing by the day.
When talking about Aiming for the Sun, Keen notes that “the whole process came about completely organically.” A couple of friends from University offered to help him with the recording and mixing, one thing led to another, and before he knew it the EP was released, word of mouth began to spread, over 1,000 physicals were sold and the title track had been synched, all without artist representation.
Ryan has also found himself involved in a very talented circle of young musicians, from the up-and-coming Lucy Rose, Delilah and Kal Lavelle, to UK and USA chart toppers Newton Faulkner and Ed Sheeran. “I’ve always been really interested in what others around me are doing creatively, so I make a conscious effort to go up and talk to people,” he says. “Friendships and projects have blossomed from there.” It’s this unabashed approach that makes Keen destined for success.
The next year looks incredibly busy for Ryan. He’s on tour supporting Ed Sheeran for his sold out “+” tour and is currently in the studio working towards his new EP. He also has a handful of other projects that will see him through 2012, including a stop-animation music video and various collaboration and re-mix projects; both of which he’s working on with a variety of well-known artists ranging from acoustic to dubstep. Watch this space…
Maz Totterdel
Bio coming soon
