Richard Dawson (musician)
| Richard Dawson | |
|---|---|
 Dawson performing in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Folk, psychedelic folk, experimental rock, avant-garde |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboard, samplers |
| Website | http://www.richarddawson.net/ |
Richard Dawson is a folk musician from Newcastle upon Tyne, England.[1] His 2014 album Nothing Important was released by Weird World and was met with critical acclaim.[2][3][4]
Career
Dawson grew up in Newcastle and became interested in singing as a child, attempting to emulate American singers such as Faith No More's Mike Patton.[5] He worked in record stores for 10 years before starting a professional music career. He bought an inexpensive acoustic guitar with nylon strings[2] but accidentally broke it. After the guitar was repaired, he found it had a unique sound and he now uses it as his main instrument.[1]
Dawson's approach at tackling blues music has been described as an English version of Captain Beefheart.[1][4] Dawson himself cites Qawwali,[5] a form of Sufi devotional music, Kenyan folk guitarist Henry Makobi[1] and folk musician Mike Waterson[6] as influences on his work. The albums The Glass Trunk (2013) and Nothing Important (2014) feature collaborations with harpist Rhodri Davies, who Dawson describes as "somewhat of a kindred spirit".[5][6] Dawson and Davies released a collaborative album, Dawson-Davies: Hen Ogledd,[7] in 2013 and Dawson has also released solo material pseudonymously under the name "Eyeballs".[6]
Since Nothing Important, Dawson has played the guitar through a Fender and an Orange amplifier in series.[5] He also used synthesized sounds from an iOS application, ThumbJam, and played saxophone despite having only a rudimentary knowledge of the instrument.[5]
Lyrically, Dawson's material deals with dark subjects such as death. For The Glass Trunk, he searched a database in the Tyne and Wear archives for "death" and took inspiration from old news stories involving murder and bodily harm.[2][8] The track “The Vile Stuff” from Nothing Important describes a continuous narrative of events, including one where Dawson pierced his hand with a screwdriver attempting to crack a coconut shell while on a school trip.[4]
Discography
Albums
- Richard Dawson Sings Songs and Plays Guitar (2007, Downbeat Records)
- Motherland (2008, Pink Triangle)
- Dawson May Jazzfinger Clay with Nev Clay, Ally May & Jazzfinger (2009, Pink Triangle)
- The Magic Bridge (2011, Pink Triangle/Box Records)
- The Glass Trunk (2013, alt.vinyl)
- Dawson-Davies: Hen Ogledd with Rhodri Davies (2013, alt.vinyl)
- Nothing Important (2014, Weird World)
References
- 1 2 3 4 Weingarten, Christopher R. (November 2014). "Richard Dawson – Dej Loaf, Oliver Heldens and 8 More New Artists You Need to Know | Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 Cook-Wilson, Winston (5 November 2014). "Richard Dawson: Nothing Important". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Gardner, Noel (1 November 2014). "NME Reviews – Richard Dawson – 'Nothing Important'". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 Hann, Michael (20 November 2014). "Richard Dawson: Nothing Important review – remarkably original folk". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Nugent, Cian (3 December 2014). "Richard Dawson by Cian Nugent". Bomb magazine. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 McKeating, Scott (26 February 2013). "The Ancestor's Tale: An Interview With Richard Dawson". The Quietus. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Bliss, Abi (November 2014). "Galaxy of Scars". The Wire. The Wire Magazine Ltd. (369): 40. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Wheeler, Harry (5 March 2014). "Richard Dawson – The Glass Trunk". Folk Radio. Retrieved 16 December 2014.