Biography
"Some of the
best pop / rock you're likely to hear this or any year" -
Irish Times; "A mixture of melody, intelligence and sonic
innovation. Extremely impressive" - Irish Examiner;
"One of the most promising singer-songwriters to emerge this
year" - Clash Magazine; "An
express train of emotions" - Daily Express; "Sublime,
compelling stuff" - Hotpress
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Chris
Singleton is a name to remember. An indie Dublin
singer-songwriter obsessed with classic 60s and 70s
pop/rock, he writes gems of songs drenched in melody and
wrapped up in a production style which brings to mind
classic Beatles, Bowie and Kinks. Chris recently released
his ‘Twisted City’ album in the UK and Ireland. Taking the
DIY approach, Chris self-produced this record, played most
of the instruments on it himself and then set up a label to
release it on his own. But it wasn't long before people took
notice; Universal liked what they heard so much they offered
him distribution in Ireland, and the UK quickly followed
suit.
Written on the back of boarding cards and tube tickets, or
abandoned newspapers which he found in railway stations,
‘Twisted City’ is conceived as a tube journey through
London. Each song is a stop on the line and deals with a
different 'place', whether a London location or an
experience. The album's opener, "Worry Number One", starts
with a driver announcing a departure of a train; from then
on the train takes the listener through a diverse musical
landscape. Taking in the upbeat glam of "Get Up", the
acoustic melancholia of "Pieces", the perfect power-pop of
"The Only One", "Stop Following" and "Wherever", and even a
little punk-rock at the end of the title track, "Twisted
City" is an album clearly made on – and about – a move. To
mark the album’s ‘journey’ theme, Chris has performed unique
London gigs on moving locations – a taxi, tube, a boat and a
bus; he also embarked on a ‘Monopoly Tour’ of London – 29
guerrilla gigs on the streets of the famous board game. All
of which got fantastic media coverage from major English and
Irish newspapers and TV (BBC, ITV, The Sun, The Mirror and
more).
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Reviews of Chris' work so far have been astounding. The
Irish Times described his record as "some of the best
pop/rock you are likely to hear this year or any year" and
The Daily Express called it an "express train of emotions".
It isn't just the national papers singing his praises
though: top culture magazines such as Clash Magazine and
Hotpress have also got behind Chris' underdog aesthetics,
Clash going as far as to call him "one of the most promising
songwriters to surface this year" and Hotpress describing
his music as "sublime, compelling stuff". Chris' fascination
with the London Underground led to his greatest exposure
yet: ITV were so taken with his idea of launching his album
on the Tube that they did a news feature on him which was
broadcast to over 5 million people. His singles from
'Twisted City' received national airplay / playlisting from
the likes of BBC Radio 2, RTE Radio 1, RTE Radio 2, Kerrang,
X FM and Music Choice. His track ‘Get Up’ made it to number
4 in the Irish airplay charts.
Chris
is not your typical singer-songwriter and has never played
it by the book. To record this album, Chris had to overcome
a rare ear condition, hyperacusis - an allergy to sound in
which everyday noises, let alone music, are extremely
painful. He also experiences synesthesia, where he "sees"
sounds and words in colour.
"Twisted City" was written, recorded and produced entirely
by Chris and then mastered at Abbey Road by Geoff Pesche (Gorrilaz,
Coldplay, Kylie). Consistently excellent throughout, the
album could just be the sleeper hit of the year.
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