Ed Harcourt Plays C2 On Tues 18th Feb
Published 8th Feb 2003 by Alison@c2

Tuesday 18th Feb Ed Harcourt. Imaginative: string-laden, vibe-driven & unique with sinister piano, grainy melodies & ramshakle charm. Close campirisons include Tom Waits & Jeff Buckley + guests. 8pm. ?9.

-----------
Ed Harcourt
Biography

?Making an appearance at the club tonight, playing some songs that I think are alright. I?m not post-modern, just a man who can bark, and bite with teeth that leave a mark.? / ?Jetsetter?

There once lived a man, who dreamed his way through life, painting songs in technicolour shades, who sang of love and other demons, who found solace in darkness and beauty in light, who revelled in the images and moods of Tim Burton, J.D Salinger, Maurice Sendak, Paul Auster, The Brothers Grimm, Chet Baker, Tom Waits, Raymond Carver, and was blessed with a talent to lament or love the world with sweet serenade. Of course there is much more to Ed Harcourt than creepy crawlies, spiders, tombstones, bugs, dusty books and scrawled love letters. For starters he?s a romantic, a storyteller, a lay preacher even and most importantly a performer of the finest nature.

First came the cracked, raw ingenuity of ?Maplewood?, the debut solo six track offering which first catapulted Ed Harcourt into the public eye upon its release in late 2000. Comprised of his original 4trk demos it marked the arrival of a talented new force in the world of singer-songwriting, drawing early comparisons with Randy Newman, Waits and Harry Nilsson, with anthemic blasts like ?Apple Of My Eye? and ?I?ve Become Misguided?.

The young Harcourt would soon open many eyes, silence doubters, answer critics and simultaneously establish himself as one of Britain?s most exciting and individual new musical forces. This would come just a few short months later with the arrival of ?Here Be Monsters?, his first full-length offering. Rich with the new found sonic experimentation provided by the guiding hand of co-producer Tim Holmes (Death In Vegas), an ever-maturing song-writing quill and a never ending thirst for innovation and discovery, HBM brought his audience a taste of the real Ed Harcourt. Addictive songwriting, storytelling majesty and an unquenchable thirst for more.

>From the brooding piano bombast of ?God Protect Your Soul? to the
>blinding psychedelic pop blitz of ?Shanghai?, and where ?Beneath The
>Heart Of Darkness? hinted at sonic malevolence with its thrashing
>climatic end, it never seemed to drift from its original agenda. ?Here
>Be Monsters? was and still is a marvellous collection of songs, and a
>remarkable debut of any sorts. A rightful Mercury Music Prize
>nomination followed, alongside widespread national and international
>acclaim. It has also seen him tread the boards for many of his
>explosive headline live shows, numerous festival appearances and guest
>slots with the likes of Sparklehorse, Neil Finn and Beth Orton both
>throughout Europe, Australia and the US.

But now after just twenty-five years on this earth, few will be prepared for what comes next. Welcome to ?From Every Sphere?, and most importantly, Harcourt?s soul laid bare on a plate for all to devour, It is gritty, addictive, blinding and powerful music at its finest. Equal parts moving, chilling and wild. It soundtracks trapped cityscapes, lost loves, harnessed souls, dusty treasures and sheltered daydreams.

Shaped and recorded with Tchad Blake (Tom Waits, Low, American Music Club), it marks a significant step on from the grand madness of HBM. ?I realised I loved a lot of things that he?d worked on in the past. He brought an amazing innovative quality to recording. His thought processing was unique, and we really connected. Some days we would do three songs in a day, I liked the way he kept up with my pace. After the last album, where I seemed to listen more to music than make it, and the sickness that hampered it, I just wanted to stay focused and make a great album.?

Each song weaves its own corner of a magnificent web that will capture and astound the curious, demolish the weak and raise a gentle finger to those who may have questioned his ascendance to songwriting notoriety. ?I?m really proud of it, I was so much more focused, driven and ambitious. I knew that there was so much more I could do to make it right,? he sighs. Originally planned as a conceptual double album entitled ?The Ghosts Parade?, it quickly became fractured, fragmented and twisted as the lullabies began to take shape.

>From the stripped down harmonies and wistful percussive sunshine of
>?Jetsetter? to the spiralling symphonic grandeur of ?Metaphorically
>Yours?, elsewhere its deeply personal lyrics capture a time in Ed?s
>life: the breakdown of his long term relationship, coupled with the
>daily madness of being a piano-man. ?Sonically this is a more up
>record, it says more lyrically and is altogether more uplifting. My
>favourite songs are always hopeful. I don?t want to wallow in
>self-pity. ?Here Be Monsters? was me coming out of adolescence, and
>?From Every Sphere? is me coming into my mid twenties, a little wiser,
>a little surer about everything. I?ve learned that sometimes your
>initial instincts are right. You can?t paint a smile on a Francis Bacon
>to make it look happy. It is beauty and darkness, violence, light and
>everything in between.?

?From Every Sphere? takes you to all corners of Harcourt?s psyche. Inspired partially by the long sickness that hampered the HBM sessions and Ed's touring for months last year, it harnesses delirium and fantasy into the perfect charmed compendium that is ?Fireflies Take Flight?. ?I am constantly writing, a lot of this comes from experiences, usually dreams. I like stories that drag people in so I try to think visually in terms of people, places, landscapes, situations and characters.

He will claim he has no idea what ?Ghostwriter? is about, whilst ?The Birds Will Sing For Us? is about paranoia, a song about dying, enriched with hope. ?There is happiness around the corner, so you better go and fucking find it,? he adds. Elsewhere you will find soulsearchers (?Bleed A River Deep?), tributes (?Bittersweetheart?) and a song about a plague, where a sinister character collects the souls of children in a butterfly net (?Undertaker Strut?)..All contributing to probably the most emotive and dramatic album that you will hear all year.

Lest we forget his recent limited edition take on Brian Wilson?s ?Still I Dream Of It?, ?I love that song. It is so beautiful, honest and distraught. So full of despair, it just immediately says something. I realised I couldn?t attempt to recreate it, so I made a sugary version in tribute.? He adds, ?Today I am a lot less insecure. I don?t need reassurance from others so much, I really believe in what I do now. As time progresses, you realise, you are always learning. The reaction is to create my own scene; I don?t fit into any one place. I just want to explore with my songwriting, I want to constantly surprise people and avoid being pigeon holed.?

So how does Ed Harcourt see himself? ?The Oliver Reed of indie rock, the Donnie Darko of piano...? he spits, ? I just want to connect with people. I will give you all I have to give. I?m happiest when I?m singing my heart out at my piano. I don?t mind putting my soul out on the line because my only intention is to live my life as much as possible. I?m not superhuman- although you can call me super human renaissance man,? he laughs.

And so with album number two, healthily tucked under his belt, Ed Harcourt prepares himself to take on the world. You?ll find him where the wild things grow. Where fantasy and reality become casually acquainted, where dreams come true and where songs still have that magical power to.....

...Well, discover for yourself.

The album ?From Every Sphere? will be released on 17th February 2003 The single ?All of Your Days? will be released on 3rd February 2003.
(Heavenly Recordings)

4368 Views