Richard Dawson (musician)

Last updated

Richard Dawson
Richard Dawson 2015.jpg
Dawson performing in 2015
Background information
Born (1981-05-24) 24 May 1981 (age 42)
Origin Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
  • keyboards
  • samplers
Labels
Website richarddawson.net

Richard Michael Dawson (born 1981) [1] is an English progressive folk singer-songwriter from Newcastle upon Tyne. [2] His 2014 album Nothing Important was released by Weird World and was met with critical acclaim. [3] [4] [5] His 2017 album Peasant received similar acclaim, and was chosen by The Quietus as their album of the year. [6] In 2019, he released the album 2020 , again to critical acclaim. [7] [8] Henki , a collaborative album made with the Finnish band Circle, was released in 2021, [9] followed by another solo effort, The Ruby Cord , in 2022.

Contents

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. [10] He worked in record stores for 10 years before starting a professional music career. He bought an inexpensive acoustic guitar [3] but accidentally broke it. After the guitar was repaired, he found it had a unique sound and he has used it as his main instrument. [2]

Dawson's music has been described as a deconstruction of folk music, done in an English style, similar to what American Captain Beefheart did with blues music. [2] [5] Dawson himself cites Qawwali, [10] a form of Sufi devotional music, Kenyan folk guitarist Henry Makobi [2] and folk musician Mike Waterson [11] 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". [10] [11] Dawson and Davies released a collaborative album, Dawson-Davies: Hen Ogledd, [12] in 2013 and Dawson has also released solo material pseudonymously under the name "Eyeballs". Dawson has also performed in the groups Hot Fog with Mike Vest (Bong)[ citation needed ], Moon with Ben Jones and Sarah Sullivan (Jazzfinger), and played a handful of shows on guitar with Khunnt. [11]

Since Nothing Important, Dawson has played the guitar through a Fender and an Orange amplifier in series. [10] He also used synthesized sounds from an iOS application, ThumbJam, and played saxophone despite having only a rudimentary knowledge of the instrument. [10]

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. [3] [13] 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. [5]

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Collaborations

Additionally, over 60 releases with Sally Pilkington as Bulbils [14] during 2020-2021.

Soundtracks

As Eyeballs

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References

  1. ↑ Rogers, Jude (26 October 2019). "Richard Dawson: anthems for a blighted nation". The Guardian.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Weingarten, Christopher R. (20 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.
  3. 1 2 3 Cook-Wilson, Winston (5 November 2014). "Richard Dawson: Nothing Important". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Gardner, Noel (1 November 2014). "NME Reviews – Richard Dawson – 'Nothing Important'". NME . IPC Media . Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Hann, Michael (20 November 2014). "Richard Dawson: Nothing Important review – remarkably original folk". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Riley, Danny (1 June 2017). "The Quietus | Reviews | Richard Dawson". The Quietus . Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (11 October 2019). "Richard Dawson: 2020 review". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "Richard Dawson – 2020 – Album review". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Richard Dawson & Circle - Henki (CD) | Domino Mart". Domino Recording Company. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Nugent, Cian (3 December 2014). "Richard Dawson by Cian Nugent". Bomb magazine. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 McKeating, Scott (26 February 2013). "The Ancestor's Tale: An Interview With Richard Dawson". The Quietus . Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  12. ↑ Bliss, Abi (November 2014). "Galaxy of Scars". The Wire (369): 40. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Wheeler, Harry (5 March 2014). "Richard Dawson – The Glass Trunk". Folk Radio. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Bulbils on Bandcamp
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