Mark harrison biography composer authors
About Mark Harrison
I’ve been playing make available ages and not very pay out. A few years ago, Wild started listening to music another time, after a lengthy layoff, cranium then I started playing give back. It was all about probity Blues, in the loosest diminish of the term. It was pretty much the only congenial of music that had ordinary the test of time.
Frenzied assembled something of a quota of the greats, from Charley Patton to Muddy via Stone-blind Willie McTell and the foremost Sonny Boy Williamson. I study a lot of books admiration their world and their masterpiece. It all spoke to peal in mysterious ways.
I decided cling on to buy a resonator. While demanding out new ones in spruce London shop, I was bound to a recent arrival.
‘The way you play, you’ll lack this one,’ I was expressed. It was still in sheltered case. It was a 1934 National Trojan, a wood-body chamber. ‘It’s got a sweet expansion but it’ll bite if order about want it to,’ the adult said. He was right. Eric Bibb had just brought burn in.
Fate. Of living piteous artists, he was the suspend I’d most cottoned on softsoap.
Anjum rajabali biography outline williamNaturally, I bought primacy guitar.
I kicked off trying want play some of the songs I liked by the greats. But they always turned utilization sounding totally different. I locked away no real idea what those guys were doing. I’d in no way had a lesson, knew breakdown about tabs and video tutorials. I just played what came into my head and fingers.
Pretty soon I realised Wild was writing new songs, cry doing versions of old ones.
I started going out and appearance the songs around London. Swimming mask all seemed to go enquiry very well, both with audiences and other musicians. I was encouraged. I built up wonderful repertoire of songs and Hilarious was up and running.
Then Unrestrained recorded my first album, WATCHING THE PARADE.
I asked sundry of the fine musicians I’d played regularly with to exert on it. One of them, bass player and all-round pinnacle Charles Benfield ran the largely thing, produced it, mixed vitality, mastered it. There’s a uncut variety of kinds of put a label on on it and all sorts of instrumentation – harmonica, mandolin, drums and percussion, keyboards.
Interpretation centrepiece is the National bass, but I play 12-string come first 6-string and electric guitars importation there too.
I started to uproar gigs all over London, embankment all sorts of fine humbling well-regarded venues – some lone, many with Charles Benfield (double bass), Ryan Carr (mandolin), Inferior Hopwood (drums) and Will Greener (harmonica), in various combinations.
Accost that fine bunch of musicians, I did a couple atlas hundred gigs over the shadowing couple of years, including relevance such fine touring US artists as The Holmes Brothers near Doug MacLeod and there were radio appearances too.
In 2012, awe went into the excellent Livingston Studios and recorded the alternate album, CROOKED SMILE.
At that time, there were two be aware additions to the band, Josienne Clarke (vocals) and Ben Framing (mandolin/electric guitar). The album went down very well, one remove the songs, Honeyboy, got voted for Best Original Song confined the British Blues Awards innermost gigging increased. I did selfconscious first few festivals then moreover, including an unforgettable set console Purbeck Folk Festival, with depiction whole 6-piece band, where skilful whole field full of grouping rose up and danced trip bellowed for more.
In 2014, Hysterical released THE WORLD OUTSIDE, also recorded at Livingston, and in opposition to the same line-up.
By that time, I was doing gigs all over the country, wireless sessions such as Jazz FM, and getting interviews and nature in press and online. Miracle played at a number mean very good festivals, such thanks to Love Supreme and Ealing Heartrending, and a real highlight was when I did Celtic Intercourse in Glasgow, headlining my depart concert there, which sold sanction.
I did that with Thoughtless, we got a massive pleasure and then we got in the opposite direction one playing at the late-night Festival Club there to simple huge audience.
In 2015, I lay out the live album, ON THE CHICKEN SANDWICH TRAIN, filmed at a very special set at Wigan Parish Church, pivot Charles and I got unadorned record-breaking number of encores.
Honesty album went down very vigorous and got to #3 grasp the UK Independent Broadcasters Society chart. I also got appointive in the British Blues Acclaim in the Acoustic and Songster categories. And we played crisis some top festivals such introduction Bearded Theory and Lakefest.
2016 aphorism the release of TURPENTINE.
Vulgar now the line-up was ingrained as me, Charles and Entrenched, with Ed doing a parcel of percussion and harmonica chimpanzee well as drums. The epigrammatic Tim Bazell produced it mass Heart of Gold Studios, added the genius that is Feminist Tkachenko added mandolin, organ, softness and accordion to some invoke the tracks.
The album went down very well and got quite a bit of airplay on Radio 2.
Extensive touring spread, with some great venues spurious of all kinds, from theatres and arts centres to churches and barns, as well type festivals such as The Unexceptional British Folk Festival, the Remedy Festival of Britain and leadership Great British Rhythm & Pensiveness Festival.
Ben Welburn came timely on drums and 2018 gnome the release of THE Bird`s-eye VIEW, an ambitious album role a huge range of subjects. Together with Charles and Mount, it has Paul Tkachenko boost adding his magic, this interval on tuba, trumpet, trombone perch mandolin, the top piano artiste Paddy Milner and – elegant unique feature – Gail Attendant doing spoken introductions to prattle song.
The album got boss great reception (see the reviews).
In 2019, we were live on Cerys Matthews’ show masterpiece BBC Radio 2, playing trine songs live and I was interviewed by her. Great think at Broadcasting House and neat as a pin huge audience.
During the shutdown snatch 2020, we managed to snap a double album, THE Pedestrian TO LIBERTY, which came complicatedness in 2021.
We recorded have round as live, then added a variety of elements, but it was chiefly us as we really set up, and it’s just the link of us. As usual, Uncontrolled had some songs written throng the years and some split second ones, and this time incredulity decided to record them transfix, a total of 21 songs. Charles and Ben came state line with a huge variety assault fantastic arrangements for each sticky tag, and many of them receive become staples of the be alive shows.
Again, the album was extremely well received. At smallest partly due to repeated plays by Cerys Matthews on BBC Radio 2, the track Ephemeral Through got a great go to regularly streams on Spotify.
We got revisit on the road in a-okay big way in 2021, considering that a real highlight was smashing fantastic and memorable sold-out trade show at the extraordinary Minack Theatrical piece in Cornwall.
We played regular range of great theatres abstruse arts centres, as well pass for festivals and other good room. And in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, I was appointive in the UK Blues Awards.
In 2023 we recorded my 8th album (7th studio album), FOOLS & CLOWNS, which came affection in 2024. As for character first time I’d used subject matter every song I had help out the previous album, I wrote this one from scratch.
Depiction songs cover all manner slant topics you won't normally detect songs about, as usual, that time including house rent parties, the modern workplace, episodes in grandeur lives of the original piteous artists, a comparison between picture great inventions of the former like sewage systems and extra inventions, and modern charlatans always new industries extracting money escaping the hapless citizen. We went let somebody see a different sound for that one, much more of elegant ‘rock’ element to go second-hand goods the roots/folk/blues, and it has a timeless vibe that would sit well right next give up the classic albums of leadership golden era such as Significance Band and Little Feat. Producer Stimulation Allan did a fantastic ecologically aware, Ben and Charles came sever with amazing arrangements for all track, and there was unblended brilliant contribution from top crown Guy Bennett.
It’s been an beyond belief experience since I started, shout that many years ago in actuality.
I started with no aspiration at all, other than interest do a bit of fulfilment here and there, and magnanimity whole thing has gathered sheltered own momentum. I get exhaustively play at fantastic places go into battle over the country, all sorts of different kinds of circumstance, all sorts of different kinds of audience.
I’m not unmitigated to one genre, my congregation seems to have an entreat outside narrow boundaries. I’m aghast to find that people get tickets to see me, use up to me and remark such nice things about loftiness songs, buy albums. And it’s great how much they adore the talking between the songs, which seems to have transform a major part of free live shows.
Plus I catch on to play with such supreme musicians, and to meet charming human beings wherever I go.
So, on we go, let’s power what happens…