"Some of the best pop/rock
you are likely to hear this or any year" - Tony
Clayton-Lea, Irish Times
Chris Singleton is
a name to remember. A 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 Bowie, Beatles and
Kinks.
Written on the
back of boarding cards and tube tickets, or abandoned
newspapers which he found in railway stations, Chris'
acclaimed 'Twisted City' record 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.
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 distributed the record in
Ireland, and top indie distributor Right Track did the
same in the UK.
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.
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, Athlete). Consistently excellent throughout,
the album could just be the sleeper hit of the year.
Chris has now released the album as a free download
- check out his innovative
'virtual audio cassette' now.
