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Richard Dawson
Dawson performing in 2015
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.

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

  • Stick In The Wheel presents From Here: English Folk Field Recordings Volume 2 (2019)
  • Republic of Geordieland (2020)

Collaborations

  • Dawson May Jazzfinger Clay with Nev Clay, Ally May and Jazzfinger (2009)
  • Moon — Diseasing Rock Who with Ben Jones and Sarah Sullivan (2011)
  • Dawson-Davies: Hen Ogledd with Rhodri Davies (2013)
  • Bronze by Hen Ogledd (Richard Dawson, Rhodri Davies, and Dawn Bothwell) (2016)
  • Mogic by Hen Ogledd (Richard Dawson, Rhodri Davies, Dawn Bothwell, Sally Pilkington, Will Guthrie) (2018)
  • Free Humans by Hen Ogledd (Richard Dawson, Rhodri Davies, Dawn Bothwell, and Sally Pilkington) (2020)
  • No Wood Accepted (EP) by Hen Ogledd (Richard Dawson, Rhodri Davies, Dawn Bothwell, and Sally Pilkington) (2021)
  • Henki (2021) with Circle

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

Soundtracks

  • Motherland (2008)

As Eyeballs

  • Europa (2008)
  • The Roof of The World (2008)
  • Sea of William Henry Smyth (2008)
  • Seal-Skin Satellite (2008)
  • The Invisible Castle (2009)
  • The Quest (2009)
  • Thief of Men (2009)
  • Treasure (2009)
  • Eyeballs/Gareth Hardwick split (2009)
  • Eyeballs/White Dwarf Spiral split (2009)

References

  1. ^ Rogers, Jude (26 October 2019). "Richard Dawson: anthems for a blighted nation". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d e Nugent, Cian (3 December 2014). "Richard Dawson by Cian Nugent". Bomb magazine. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  11. ^ a b c 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

External links

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